


A New day has begun

by An_outsider_looking_in



Series: Perhaps love was the cure? [1]
Category: Hemlock Grove
Genre: Addiction, F/F, Fear of ones sexuality, Friendship/Love, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lesbian/gay relationships, Loneliness, Loss, Love, M/M, Murder, Mystery, Pain, Roman's sexuality, Season 1, Self-Destruction, Self-Harm, Suicide, Survivor Guilt, We All Need Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-07-19 22:22:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 30,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19981471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/An_outsider_looking_in/pseuds/An_outsider_looking_in
Summary: What if all was well? What if Roman found love and happiness ensues?Hemlock grove is a dark place, and I'm going to play around with alternative character arcsI will attempt to tell the story in two interlocking storiesOne about Roman as I am constantly thinking of excellent character traits within him that can be explored, he is such a perfectly written character.Secondly I will explore Olivia  Godfrey and her relations, perhaps digging deeper into her as a character





	1. Can you hear me?

"Roman?" "ROMAN" he grew louder. Each step he took, the worry grew. Wandering through the wooden door. As he continued to walk, each step was smaller but faster. 

The hallway was everlasting and the silence, deafening.

"Roman? Roman?" He continued to shout, the ever-growing absence of a response overwhelmed him.

"Roman, can you hear me? If you are kidding with me, man..." he continued to shout, his sarcasm only further adding to his anxiety. Especially as there was still no response.

He ran out of rooms and came to the last locked door in the abandoned hospital. Cobwebs creeped over the doors and the windows were mostly smashed. Pointy shards were the only reminders of the grand glass panes. The cracked remains haunted the building. 

As he pressed his fingertips against the wooden door, he put more pressure on and the old door opened. "Roman, this isn't funny" he said, his voice shaky as the door opened to reveal what sight lay behind it. 

"They have all gone, we don't need to hide away" he was instantly scared of Roman's insecurities. Instantly fearful of his self destructive nature

The door opened and he looked around the room, in the corner was Roman. The tall, smartly dressed man, with slightly scruffy hair. He sat on an abandoned hospital wheelchair, the remains of a cigarette was still burning between his teeth, as he took it out and stomped it out.

"What are you doing?" 

Roman's eyes seemed glazed as he smiled that goofy smile and turned to Peter. He got up out of the wheelchair and stumbled over to him. Traces of blood were still evident his nostrils. 

"I thought I'd wait, I did my part" he stumbled over to Peter, and put his hand on his shoulder. 

"Well they are gone" Peter's eyes were fixated on Roman's. Watching him stumble and wobble. Roman wiped his nose with the side of his hand and stared at the traces of blood that were on his skin. He chuckled and then looked back to Peter.

"It's been thirty minutes, how can you be high?" 

Roman found this amusing and laughed, the smile lingering on his lips. 

"A tonne of practice" the young gypsy boy smiled, trying to hide his worry. Roman pulled a joint from the inner part of his jacket and lit it. Taking a couple of meaningful and focussed drags, he passed it to Peter. 

Peter took one of the rotting wheelchairs from the corner of the room and rolled it over to Roman. They sat there and smoked almost in unison. The wheelchair was slightly different to Roman's it had what appeared to be the remains of an arm restraint hanging off the left side. 

Peter picked up the faded strap and allowed it to drop, 

"Shee-it" he said, exhaled a large smoke cloud. 

"I guess it housed the insane and unruly" Roman added, eloquently, as though delivering an incredibly important lecture. He acted as though he was an expert 

The statement was left dangling as the two of them sat in that abandoned bulidng. Each incredibly proud and equally releived at their narrow escape from the cops. 


	2. But, we are Still here.

The sun shone through the smashed windows as the two men slept in the decrepit wheelchairs. Peter slept lightly, he was unable to lose himself in a deep sleep, too worried. His nerves shot. The hospital was less horrific in daylight, It was saddening more so, forgotten. 

Roman sat up, looked over at Peter, whose eyes were closed, he pulled a cigarette out of his silver tin, and lit it. Inhaling the smoke, he looked at the sleeping gypsy. 

"Hey" Peter pretended to awaken from a deep slumber he stretched his arms. Roman lit another cigarette. Briefly glancing at Peter's intriguing tribal tattoos.

"Hey" Roman said passing the cigarette to him. Peter sat forward and looked down at the rotted wheelchair. It was horrific in sunlight, the paint had been completely chipped away. All that was left was the rusty metal. Decaying in the desolate and crumbling building. A small reminder of the humanity that used to inhabit the archaic building.

"We should leave" Peter said as he stood up and allowed the chair to roll away. Roman got up, stubbed out the cigarette and kicked the chair away, it hit the wall. Fragments of dust flew of it. It wasn't an act of anger, he just wanted to. The mould of the paint on the walls chipped off. Roman looked at the carnage he had caused and pulled out another cigarette. Peter was still smoking his, he often remarked on how he chose not to rush good tobacco.

It pleased Roman to think of his tobacco as "good" and somewhat superior in Peter's eyes. 

He walked off ahead and Peter followed. It was silent as they stepped out of the hazardous building. They stood for a while, Romans eyes were un-emotive as the sun hit his face. It merely illuminated how tired and worn down he looked.

"You know, the structure is still there, just needs a clean up" Peter smacked the wall as if it were a congratulatory snack on the back. It made a loud cracking sound and a chunk of stone fell out of the wall, narrowly missing his foot. 

"Yeah, good old graft" a grin stretched over Roman's face as he turned and walked towards the forest, his car was parked near a tree. 

He got in the car and Peter sat beside him. The car ride was quiet and when Peter got out, he simply breathed 

"Mind how you go" he said, observing how Roman had thoughout the car journey, been snorting tiny amounts of coke from the vial in his pocket. 

He had tried to hide it, Peter still saw.

Roman simply grinned at him, it unnerved Peter as he pulled away

He sped away and Peter exhaled as he wandered through the woods to the caravan.

Roman pulled up outside the mansion

"Here we go" he mumbled as he stumbled out of the car and headed towards the front door. As he entered his mother was sitting in the parlour. Lit purely by a lamp.

'Very dramatic' he thought 

He tried to go straight upstairs but stopped.

"Roman" she called, calmly.

He walked towards her, she turned around. Smoke twirled before her as she looked at him. 

He leaned in the doorway. 

"I know what tomorrow is, but you can't keep staying out on these all night benders. I don't know where you are"

He waited for a while and then responded.

"That was great, I almost believed that you cared" he pulled out his silver tin, the final cigarette. She stood up and walked over to him, stubbing out her cigarette in the glass dish She took the cigarette from him and began to smoke it.

"You smoke too much, dear" she continued to take long drags from the cigarette , he stared at her. 

"You know what tomorrow is. Are you that much of a cunt that you won't acknowledge it" 

Olivia slapped him around the face, it didn't phase him. Numbness.

"Don't you dare, I know what tomorrow is, but I am still your mother and you will respect me"

"Some mother" he walked away 

"I refuse to lose the only child that I have left"

"That happened a year ago. When you let her die" 

Olivia was silent, she maintained her anger but her face slipped. Standing proud, tears began to build. She daren't let him see her cry.

He wandered off upstairs and collapsed into his bed. He realised his cigarette tin was empty and threw it across the room, he felt angry, livid at himself. He couldn't cope with these emotions. Tears and rage bubbles to the surface. Reaching under the bed, he pulled out a small box. In it ,he kept his supply, of various razors and other 'reliefs'. 

He assumed his mother knew about them, she just didn't care enough. In his mind, he saw here crying, disappointed. He hated himself for the fact that this bothered him.

Pulling out a razor , he ran his finger over the blade, lying back on his bed. Desperately wanting to break skin but fighting it, Peter's voice was in his head. He'd know. Roman closed his eyes, the razor still in his hand, and fell asleep. Peter's words were looping in his mind. 

Worse of all, so were Shelley's

* * *

In the night, his door creaked open. Olivia peaked inside, she wandered over to the bed were Roman lay. Perching herself next to him, she leant over and stroked his hair.

"I do care, darling. I do" she kissed his forehead ,held his hand, the razor was still nestled in his clutched palm

"My beautiful boy, why must you do this to yourself" she stroked his hair, brushing it out of his eyes as he lay asleep. She saw the scars on his arms, a recent one on his chest, the bandage still on. The white had faded and it just looked sweaty. His shirt was half unbuttoned, his sleeves rolled up. 

"How did my little boy grow to hate himself" she sat for a few moments longer. 


	3. This is stranger than I thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day of the anniversary. Roman can't get in touch with Peter so is alone with his mother.

Roman took his time in the bath, that morning. After making more cigarettes from his "Good tobacco". He was blowing smoke rings and getting wrinkles on the end of his finger. Eventually the water was unbearably cold and he had no other choice but to get out yet he lingered for as long as he could.

Heading downstairs, he was shocked to find that his mother wasn't sitting in the parlour. Come to think of it, he hadn't heard her at all, that morning. 

Walking into the kitchen, he poured himself a mug of strong black coffee. He pulled out his phone and texted Peter

_Hey, want to meet up? I'm not doing anything, could be fun_

Olivia must have been there at some point as the pot of coffee was still warm. As he turned to go into the parlour, there she was. 

"Morning darling" she was nursing a whiskey in the dining room.

"Morning" he changed course and sat opposite her on the large dining table. He would try to be civil, a fight would be most unpleasant. 

"Is there a reason to be sitting in complete darkness?" 

"No" she smiled a half smile. She too was obviously trying to be civil.

"I made breakfast" she sipped from the glass, and signalled her gaze towards a small plate of store bought pastries that had been neatly laid out in the centre of the table. He pulled out a cigarette from his tin and sat back, unsure of how to approach the niceties that lay before him. 

"So now what?" He asked as he looked at her.

She shrugged, and smiled, "Rarely are we in the same room for this long"

He didn't respond 

"Your sister always was a neutral between us" the picture of Shelley and Roman sat beside her on the dining table. It's usual place was on the mantlepiece

"Yeah, we didn't deserve her, she was purer than us" Roman took another drag as he picked at the croissant.

It was silent for a few moments more, there they sat in the dimly lit room. Roman texted Peter, Again.

_Hey , it's me again. Just wondering if you wanted to hang out later today_

Peter didn't respond, Roman kept checking his phone, but nothing. It made him feel isolated, had he done something? said something to Peter? He struggled to remember much in these recent times so was unsure. 

Minutes seemed to pass by, prolonged and boring. 

"Darling, is there anything you'd like to talk to me about?"

"No"

"I'm worried about you, you always seem so distant"

Roman tugged gently at his black shirt sleeve under table, he felt the scars though the thin fabric, it assured him to gently stroke them.

"Aren't you going to say something?" His mother kept nagging.

"Why don't you shut the fuck up? And stop pretending to be a mother, all of a sudden"

Olivia drank her whiskey and tapped the rim of the glass with her long nails. She was clearly holding herself back.

"Is that something you want to talk about? How you let Shelley die?" He kept pushing

"I didn't let her die" 

"You did, you let her leave, you didn't let me look for her", Roman could see his mother get angrier, her tapping became fast. She clutched the glass tightly, still tapping the rim. It narrowly missed Roman as she threw it across the room, shattering into pieces. He stood up and she blocked the door way.

"Move" he smiled at her, his hands shaking. 

"She was the kindest girl I knew, the best daughter I could have asked. I didn't kill her. You were supposed to protect her" 

He kept staring at her

"Move, out of my way" blood began to trickle down his nose

"That doesn't work on me" She laughed at him, erratically.

"You are a product of me, that doesn't work on me, you are a weak little boy" She moved out of his way and he stormed past her.

Leaning against the door frame, Olivia watched him storm out of the front door. 'Who knew when he'd be back' she wondered

Olivia pulled out a cigarette and lit it, her hands were shaking. "Little shit" she muttered

* * *

Roman got into his car. He punched the steering wheel repeatedly. " Fucking bitch" tears rolled down his face as he wiped away the blood from under his nose.

His hands were shaking as he called Peter, no answer. He left a garbled message

_"Peter, man I don't know where you are and why you aren't answering but I need to see you_

_Pick up the fucking phone, I don't know what gypsy shit you are up to, but I really need to see you. Pick up come on ,pick up. Please"_

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small vial of coke, he tapped some out onto his mirror and snorted it.

He felt nothing.

He pulled off drive. His mother stood in the window watching him. 

A few miles down the road, the coke still did nothing, so he pulled into the bar and perched himself on a bar stool. 

"Vodka, make it a double" he waved over the bartender, everyone seemed silent upon his entry. 

"What?" He looked around the bar, "What is your fucking problem?" They stared at him

"What's with the tears, huh? Mommy grounded you?" A balding man put his hand on Roman's shoulder. Roman pushed him away

"Hey, Leave him alone, Steve" the bartender said in a gruff smokers voice.

"I'll do and say what I damn well please" 

Roman ignored the man and necked his vodka. The man laughed at him

"Drinking like a big boy?" He jested 

Roman turned around and stared at the man

"Why don't you just fuck odd back to your pathetic little life? I'm drinking, I'm not harming anyone"

"Guess again, I got laid off last week from your shitty company" Roman rolled his eyes 

"Then you should find a job and quit boozing in here" Roman gave the bartender a $100 note, picked up the 2 litre vodka from the counter and walked away.

"Pretensious little shit" Steve went on

"Fight me like a man" Steve yelled. Roman kept walking and sat in his car. Talking a large sip from the bottle, he drove off. He needed quiet

Meanwhile, a full moon lit the evening sky 


	4. The full moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter picks up his phone he sees the missed calls and texts

The full moon was high and large in the night sky. Peter opened his eyes, his body ached, after transforming back. Every inch of him stung. It was almost as if the entirety of his body had been flogged. He was laying naked in the woods, the cold wet soil irritated his spine. All he wanted to do was go home. His mother had left him a bottle of replenishment mixture, this was the first full moon that she wasn't there, so she had prepared plenty. 

As he trudged back to the trailer, he pulled his trousers on and tiredly attempted to re-dress himself. It was cold and the sky was pouring down with rain. His muscles seized up as he limped just a few steps more. This pain was not new to him, but he always hated it. Each full moon, it was the transforming back that he dreaded as his human form couldn't take the agony that his beastly form caused. Clutching his ribs, Peter soldiered on, closer to the trailer. In the distance, he saw a light, it was difficult to distinguish under the heavy downpour of rain. 

"Don't do it, just go home and sleep it off" Peter told himself, he ignored his inner voice. He wandered towards the light, his clothes getting soaked. As he approached the light, he noticed the light took a form in the shape of two circular headlights. 

Approaching further, he saw a light that caused his heart to sink.

It was Roman, he was unconscious, his head slumped over the steering wheel. The seats were soaked and there was blood on his head. Peter rushed over to him, Roman was soaked, his hair hanging over his face .

"Can you hear me?" Peter begged, gently pulling Roman's head back. He was barely conscious, his eyes rolled back in his skull. He grumbled some incoherent nonsense and Peter noticed the empty coke vial on his dashboard, a half drank vodka bottle laying on the floor. The front of the car was dented, the back lights flickered. 

"What have you done?" Peter felt a burst of adrenaline as he picked up the half conscious, soaking wet man. It took every bit of strength he had, as he put Roman's arm around his shoulder.

"Come on man, try and walk" Peter took most of the weight as Roman took small steps, still groaning gibberish.

When they eventually reached the trailer, Peter dropped Roman on the couch. He almost collapsed to his knees. His muscles were on fire as he felt his legs collapse. Strenuous activity is certainly not supposed to come after a night on the prowl. But it didn't seem to matter as he headed to the kitchen to pour a glass of the replenishment fluid. 

Roman lay on the couch, ringing wet. Peter dashed to the bathroom and grabbed a couple of towels. He was soaked through but knew that Roman's immune system would be destroyed with the substances. As he headed back to the living room, he stood behind Roman and propped his head up with a pillow, sitting him up. He was like a zombie as he took small movements. 

Peter wrapped the towel around his shoulders and picked him up once more to take him to the bedroom.

"Come on" he urged Roman, as he dragged him to the bedroom.

"Its my fault" Roman cried, as he sat on the edge of the bed. Peter unbuttoned Roman's shirt and wrapped a blanket around him. He took his leather shoes off and lay him down on the bed. Peter lay Roman on his side

"I'll be right back" Peter rushed to the kitchen, his hands were shaking as he drank some of the replenishment fluid, bringing the glass to the bedroom. He gripped the counter as he felt himself blacking out, he musn't. He can't let go. 

As he got back into the bedroom, he sat Roman up and said

"Come on, drink it, it'll help" he had never asked his mother what exactly was in the fluid but she always insisted that he drank it down in full to aid his post-transformation healing. She knew more about werewolf things so he had never questioned her. 

Peter got the first aid kit and sat beside Roman, he put one foot on the bed as he faced him. He began dabbing the blood and soon saw the extent of the cut. 

"You may need stitches" Roman was spaced out, Peter had never seen him like this before. Peter had never seen Roman in such a disorientated state before and it made him uneasy. Roman flinched ever so slightly as Peter's shaking hand dabbed running alcohol on the cut. Roman held his wrist to steady it and pulled it away. 

"You need to let me clean it"

"Its all my fault," Roman's garbled speech was slightly more coherent.

Peter quickly dressed it and lay Roman down, he held him, 

"Its all my fault" tears rolled down his cheeks. Peter rubbed his shoulder and kisses it, He can feel himself wavering in consciousness as he holds Roman. 

"I let her die" 

"No, it's not your fault" Peter clutched Roman. 

He kissed his shoulder, Roman garbled some nonsense. He was in and out of consciousness as they lay intertwined on the bed. Eventually, after lying in silence, Roman fell asleep and Peter held his hand. Partly to check his pulse. Peter felt his body weaken as he held Roman. 

He had to stay awake 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying the slow build up of a love story, I am trying to references actual moments from season 1 as I write this , pleas meet me know is any thoughts you may have on the story thus
> 
> Thanks to those who are reading


	5. Heal me...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter awakes in the middle of the night to find an empty bed.

It was pitch black when Peter awoke, he reached out and found that he was alone. 

"Roman?" He asked, his limbs ached as he moved. A light was coming from the bathroom, He limped, trying to awaken his body as he walked over to the bathroom. Opening the door, he saw blood everywhere and Roman lying with his wrists cut. 

"Look what you made me do" he said, his voice gruff and strained. 

* * *

Peter awoke in a fright, he sat up in the bed and turned to find Roman lying there. Hallucinating was not new to Peter, it often was a side effect of the fluid. But this time it was scary, unnerving. Usually he hallucinated indistinguishable shapes, but never something real.

Roman reached out to Peter and held his hand, "you ok?" He whispered, his face clouded by the night. 

"Yeah" Peter lay back, he exhaled as he tried to fall asleep. He felt a sudden warmth, assurance in being beside Roman. However he couldn't help but wonder if Roman's endearment was a side effect of the substance or trauma of the accident.

Either way, he held his hand and it felt perfect.

* * *

Five hours earlier .... 

Roman took a large sip from the vodka bottle, he drove down the street, looking for somewhere to pull up. 

The street was black, barely lit by wilting street lamps, near the woods. Roman didn't pay much attention to the darkness, he was desperate to find a place to hide. A place where he could drink and smoke and forget.

As he drove, he noticed the woods were windy, the rain had just began and it soon became urgent that he needed to pull over. The rain got heavier and he began to panic, as the windscreen was soon covered. He turned on the windscreen wipers and the rain got heavier, it pounded against the glass. The vodka was next to him and he drank another satisfying gulp. He looked back to the road, and saw a shadow run towards him. As it got nearer, he saw the teeth, the snarling and sharp teeth. The yellow eyes of this furry creature were terrifying as it bounded in front of his car. Roman swerved, looking at the beast. His car spiralled out of control. 

The car plummeted down the hill and smashed into a tree, his head jolted forward, knocking him unconscious. As he began to awaken, he heard snarling, growling. His vision was blurred as he tried to turn his head to follow the beastly growls. The rain poured down, he touched his head. It stung, blood was on his hands as he dabbed the wound. He felt dizzy as he tried to stand but couldn't. The growling was still behind him, he was disoriented, his double vision caused his heart to pound. It unhinged him that He couldn't put a finger on reality. This was worse than any trip. 

"Who's there?" he tried to scream but couldn't muster the words. The beast appeared beside him, he saw it in his rear mirror which was now cracked. It leared towards him as he turned his head and saw the dark brown fur. It looked right at him, through his blurred vision, Roman saw its piercing eyes. What was it?

The beast took form and it was clear that it was some kind of wolf. It was huge and unlike anything he had seen. It looked at him and then wandered away, Roman blacked out, blood gushing down his face, diluted by the rain. 

Before he blacked out, he heard a voice. 

"Roman, look what you've done now?" It was Shelley. He lost consciousness

* * *

Roman awoke and he and Peter both sat silently, Peter noticed Roman's head dressing was stained. The blood seeped through the poorly attached bandage.

"That needs to be changed" Peter got up, his muscled ached as he perched on the stool by the bed. Roman sat up. Peter clutched his ribs as they ached after his transformation.

"Are you ok?" Roman noticed Peter's attempt to cover up pain.

"Yeah I'm good, must be carrying you" he chuckled

Roman rolled his eyes at the gypsy and pulled off the dressing. The cut was sweaty and the blood had dried . A large cut was left.

"This is pretty bad, I think you need stitches" Peter said as he dipped cotton wool into a glass of rubbing alcohol. 

"Thank you, for yesterday" Roman's voice was soft, he felt vulnerable and embarrassed.

"It's ok" Roman flinched at the sting from the dipping alcohol.

"I saw something, I thought I'd dreamt it"

"You had clearly had a lot to drink" Peter insisted, as he tried took a sterile needle and began to stitch gash.

"No I saw it, I saw a werewolf" Peter's chest sank and he smiled at Roman.

"A werewolf? I'm pretty sure they don't exist" he had a knot In his stomach and it upset him to not tell Roman the truth.

"Yeah, I thought that. This is a crazy place, shit that hurt" Roman flinched as Peter sealed the wound with a clean dressing.

Peter dressed the wound and passed Roman his dry clothes. They sat for a while, both still in agony and mental anguish. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I attempted to make this quite a disorientating chapter, to write it in chunks. The idea being to have it resonate with the Ouroborous epsiode of the show where Roman goes on an internal journey 
> 
> It may suck but that's my intention anyways...  
> Thank you for your continued support and kudos, I really appreciate it


	6. Maybe I'll understand  what happiness is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Peter begin to unpack what happened the night before.

Roman sat perched on the sofa, he was smoking a cigarette. He kept looking to the door. He touched the dressing on his forehead, it still hurt. His eyes were swollen and he had a dark purple bruise on his forehead. He felt shitty. 

Peter had fallen asleep, so Roman decided to sit, he needed his own company. The memories began to flood back, as he began to sober. The curdled flood of anxieties and blurred images immersed into clarity as his mind cleared. 

* * *

Meanwhile, at the mansion, Olivia sat alone. She had just about finished the whiskey and found herself out of cigarettes. Moping would get her nowhere, she was only just realising that her high and mighty attitude was probably the reason for her to be sitting alone on the Anniversary of her daughter's death. Ofcourse, it was Shelley they all liked anyways. Olivia had just about alienated everyone. 

Norman was gone, he had left shortly after her death. He couldn't take it and sold everything to Johann, who now run the white tower, along with having power over the psychiatric hospital. Letha and her mother didn't speak to Olivia and, they too, eventually left hemlock grove for a better life. Letha leaving was particularly hard on Roman. Olivia felt sorry for herself. She hadn't had any human contact for such a long time, real human contact. The odd fight with Roman didn't count. 

She decided to go out, unlike her son, she could hold her liquor. So it was clear that she should have some fun, as she went out, it dawned on her. 

It was tomorrow! The dark cocoon in which she had concealed herself, had opened to reveal sunlight. It was quite a spectacle, she put her sunglasses on and headed to her car. She noticed Roman's car wasn't there. 

* * *

Peter eventually got up, He took one look at Roman and then said, in his heightened state of fatigue. 

"I think we need to see my cousin, she can probably give you something to heal that"

Peter necked a cup of coffee, pulled on a shirt and then wandered over to the door. His muscles ached.

"You coming?" He turned to Roman who got up and followed him. Roman's car was no longer there, assumedly the police had cleared it away. So they walked. Destiny lived in an apartment in town, it was run down and Bohemian, it was were she made a living. 

Destiny was clairvoyant, she knew about the dark underbelly and mystical elements that the town's hierarchy was built on. Often, she had a better understanding of reality than most. As she opened the door, she hugged Peter in a tight hold. Destiny wore a floral kimono and denim shorts, her long reddish hair was knotted. 

"Are you Ok? Lynda told me you'd be alone"' 

"Yeah I'm ok, just achey" 

"You didn't answer your phone?" 

"Yeah I lost it" she rolled her eyes at him then noticed the rather scruffy looking Roman Godfrey who stood behind him.

"Roman Godfrey?, to what do I owe this honour" he didn't respond to her semi sarcastic remark. 

"Shit, that looks painful"

"That's kinda why we are here"

"Yeah I should have something" Destiny rummaged through her cupboards as, they took a seat on the sofa.

"How does she know me?" Roman whispered to Peter, he was tapping his knee, craving a cigarette. Peter held his hand to steady it, 

"Everyone does, but Destiny is special, she knows everyone and everything about everyone, she's certainly saved me from more than one scrape"

"My ears are burning" Destiny crushed a small crystal into a bowl and added other varying items into the mixture. She applied it to a compress and wandered into the living room. The thick orange mixture, cooled as she rubbed the compress together. 

"Hold this on the cut" she passed it to Roman, he and Peter stopped holding hands just before she got there. Roman pulled the bandage off and applied the unknown compress

"Thank you" he felt uncomfortable but it did ease the swelling, he hated the feeling of vulnerability. 

Peter got up and wandered to Destiny who was in the kitchen. Destiny looked concerned at him, she tightened her brow. He poured himself a mug of coffee and looked at her hardened gaze.

"What?"

"I hope you know what you are getting into" she whispered, as she put the cork back in the glass bottle and placed it on the shelf. 

"I had a vision last night" He sipped the fresh coffee 

"I sensed something too, for a period, I couldn't sense you, your aura"

"I saw something, a vision that was unusual, not the psychedelic babble that usually accompanies moms elixir"

"Did something happen during the change? What did you see?" 

Peter looked over at Roman, and then said "Something Awful, the transformation seemed normal" 

They wandered into the living room and Destiny took Roman's hand, 

"Can I read your palm?" Roman was hesitant but allowed her, she was the kind of person he wouldn't trust, usually , then again neither was Peter. 

She took his hand and began running her fingers up his palm, she followed the lines of his hand. 

"What is it?" He asked her, "What did you see?"

"Nothing" she looked at him, letting go of his hand. "How's your head?" She asked him

"It's better, thanks" he responded. 

"Look, I think I've got to go" Roman got up and smiled, he needed to be alone, he felt uncomfortable and tired, he needed his own bed. 

"Ok, if I find my phone, I'll text you later" Peter joked. 

Roman smiled at him. 

"Thanks for the compress" He left and headed home. He felt awkward about the abrupt exit but he felt as though his head would explode. Once he left, Peter waited a few moments and then collapsed, theatrically, onto the couch.

"I'm in so much pain" he sprawled out on the couch, " My muscles feel like they are fire" 

"You need to take it easy, your body hasn't healed properly from the change, I was worried about you" Destiny sat on the brown chair opposite him

Destiny scowled at him, "Your friend doesn't know he's upir, does He?" 

Peter shook his head. 

"The little prince has no teeth" he joked.

"What did you see?" Peter asked her "I've seen that face before, what aren't you telling me?"

"There's a dangerous conversion of his heart line and fate line, he is going to face the hardest decision of his life and whoever is around when he makes that choice, will be affected deeply"

"I think I'll be ok"

"Peter, love can be a very fatal illness and when he realises what he is, he will destroy everyone around him, he won't be able to control himself"


	7. Let them see us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman arrives home to an empty house

Roman was calm, the walk had allowed his brain to think and calm down. Wandering up to the drive, he entered the empty house. His mother was gone, and surprisingly his car was there, fixed in the garage. It was quite surreal, his injuries were the only remainders of the accident. Immediately, he collapsed into bed and lay there. His body finally able to sleep, uninterrupted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Olivia found herself in town, it was strange. She walked towards the bar, often she would find someone interesting, somewhere in this godforsaken town. 

As she sat on a bar stool, she cleaned the seat first, then waited for the bartender. 

"Mrs Godfrey?, are you looking for Roman?" He seemed startled, his face turned quite pale upon realising who she was. 

"No I'm bloody well not" she ordered a drink and sat, it became apparent that her status didn't stretch this far into town. Her reputation preceded her. Soon enough, a man came up behind, he put his hand on her hip and she grabbed his wrist. 

"Did she let you out?"

"Who?"

"The witch who has been keeping you in the tower, princess" he stumbled around, his pint of thick brown liquid spilling everywhere, he wore a chequered shirt and jeans. 

She rolled her eyes and half smiled, holding his waist with her hands, she leant in towards his face and whispered

"You have to work harder than that" then let go, his lips were puckered and he seemed embarrassed by her lack of enthusiasm.

He chuckled and sat beside her, about to spit out another awful chat up line.

"Hey Olivia? Sorry I'm late" a mysterious red haired lady wandered over to Olivia, her voice echoed from the corner of the room . She had a sweet voice.

"You expecting someone?" The sleazy man looked at her,

"Apparently" Olivia got up and strolled over to the lady, she necked her drink. 

"I didn't need rescuing, you know" 

"I know, I just wanted an excuse to talk to you" the lady wore a small green dress with netted sleeves, her long red curley hair, rested on her shoulders. She wore black boots and had a long and somewhat undistinguishable tattoo flowing up her left arm. 

"So what now?" Olivia looked down at the girl, 

"If I'm honest, I didn't think that'd work"

"I thought as much" Olivia smiled and took the ladies hand, "Then allow me" she lead her outside, Olivia's six foot height was enchanting to the mysterious stranger. 

As they stood outside, Olivia lit two cigarettes and passed one to the hesitant stranger. The cigarettes that she had pocketed from the sleazy man's jeans.

The girl took a drag of the cigarette and exhaled a large cloud of smoke. Olivia stared at her, impressed by this beautiful creature. "Want an adventure?" The girl asked her.

Olivia was cautious but intrigued. She _had_ gone out that night, in the hope of finding intrigue. It was confusing but Olivia trusted her, she had no reason to. 

"Yes, I think I do"

The girl took Olivia's hand and lead her away. 

"By the way, my name's Ayla", the girl smiled

* * *

Peter's mother returned that afternoon, as she entered the trailer, she dropped her bag and hugged Peter. He was sitting on the chair.

"Are you ok?" She squeezed him

"Yeah ,it went fine" 

"Did I make enough of the fluid?"

"Yeah, mom it's all ok"

"Ok, thats alright then" she took a seat and lit up a joint, from a small plastic bag.

"He sat beside her"

"I bought some good stuff back, your uncle is much better"

He nodded.

"Did we have any guests?" 

He rolled his eyes and they laughed, "You mean the Godfrey woman?"

"Yeah, she's got to be almost out of the eye drops"

"Haven't seen her"

Lynda shrugged and lay back, "So nothing has happened in my absense"

He shook his head "Nothing in particular"

"Ok" she knew he was lying. She ruffled his hair and laughed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a calmer chapter, I'm trying to build the story and allow the character arcs to grow. Thanks for all of your continued support and kudos, I hope you are enjoying this story as I'm certainly enjoying writing it


	8. It's too easy to leave me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter awakes to a familiar voice in the trailer

Peter woke up to the sound of his mother in the kitchen. He heard two voices as he crawled out of bed. As he tried to distinguish the voice, he almost fell as he leaned against the door. He quickly got dressed and wandered into the living room, to find a familiar face in his kitchen. It was destiny. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"You wouldn't tell me so I had to dig around" Lynda loaded pancakes onto a plate. 

"Tell you what?" It was unclear to him, which discrepancy she may be referring to. 

"About your little upir friend" 

'Shit' Peter thought as he poured himself a mug of coffee.

"I figured she should know, particularly as she has an associate in his mother" 

Peter chuckled and took a seat, "An associate"

"Its funny now, sure, but not when he realises who he is" Lynda lit up a cigarette and sat beside him, she placed the plate on the table. 

"I care about him" Peter picked up a pancake and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Who raised you?" Destiny jested as she joined them in the living room. He smiled a toothy smile at her, his mouth filled with pancake. 

Lynda paused for a minute and sat back, taking a long drag out of her cigarette. 

"Ok, I'll make you a deal"

"Im listening" 

"Invite your friend over, I want to meet him , I'll cook"

Peter had never really had many friends, he often kept to himself and his mother's company, they moved around so frequently that he never saw the point in making meaningful or lasting connections. He was flumaxed by his mother's suggestion. 

"That or I'll ensure that his mother knows all about it" in Peter's mind, she probably already did, but he was intrigued to see this play out so he responded.

"I'll ask him"

"Does he know about you, the reason why you were in the woods?" Lynda asked

"No, he hasn't asked either"

"Its only a matter of time until he remembers what he saw" Destiny added 

"A matter of time, I'm willing to wait it out" Lynda added, she turned the television on and put her feet up, the quiz show she liked was just about to start.

* * *

Roman awoke in a cold sweat, he'd had the weirdest dream. Yellow piercing eyes watching him. His memory had begun to clarify and the details of that night were returning. He saw the fur, the headlights lit the cast creature.

He headed out to the white tower, in the hope that he may get some answers. He didn't really dwell too much on the fact that his mother had yet to return from her galavanting.

Dr. Pryce was in his office when Roman entered. 

"What can I do for you, Roman?" Pryce was neatly dressed, his grey suit was ironed and his tie was perfectly straight. 

"I have some questions"

"Well, clearly I'm not busy, so go ahead" he signalled his hand to a large pile of papers which were situated on the edge of his desk. 

"Do you have any files on the town, like in regard to the supernatural?"

"I don't, I'm not the city council" he seemed irritable and tired.

"Why what's on your mind?" Johann exhaled, he tried desperately to limit his interest in whatever the boy was talking about. 

"Im not sure, I think it was a werewolf" Roman knew how absurd it sounded.

"Ok, is this 'werewolf' the reason you have those wounds"

"No, I don't actually remember"

"Roman I really don't have time for this, go take your intoxicated hallucinations to someone who is qualified to deal with it"

"I haven't taken anything"

"Today, perhaps but your next hit is not usually too far away

Roman didn't respond. 

"and if you see your mother, tell her I need to speak to her" He called out. 

Roman walked out of the office, clearly Pryce was useless. 

"Fuck you" he muttered as he shut the glass door. 

Johann watched him leave, then pressed the button by his desk "Miriam, contact the psychiatric hospital, and tell them we may need to put a bed on hold for young Mr Godfrey"

"Also, call Mrs Godfrey again, stress how imperative it is that we have a meeting, thank you"

"Very good sir, also your husband called to remind you that you have a reservation tonight"

'Shit' Johann had forgotten

"Thank you, tell him I'll be there" he looked at the picture on his desk, how happy he was. Him and his husband on their wedding day, Jack was tall and had thick dark hair. Since Shelley had died, Pryce had immersed himself in work and had pretty much alienated everyone. But he tried to keep some sort of social position. 

* * *

Roman knocked on the trailer door, he had a cigarette hanging from his mouth

"Hey" Peter answered the door. 

"Hey" Roman responded, he was trembling

"Are you ok?" 

"I think I'm going crazy" 

"Ok" Peter invited Roman in, Lynda was asleep on the couch. 

"This is my mother" Peter pointed to her as she lay sprawled out on the sofa. She did say she wanted to be introduced. 

"So going crazy, huh?"

"Yeah I've been seeing things, things I can't explain"

They wandered into Peter's room and sat down. Peter was calm as he lit up a joint.

"Like what?"

"A beast, a werewolf, I don't know, it's since the night of the crash, I can't get it out of my head, I see it in my nightmares"

'A matter of time sure came around fast' Peter thought as he took a large drag. 

"Maybe it's a result of the concussion?"

"What was in that fluid, you gave me?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But I have seen some weird shit too, since I've been taking it? Mainly bright colours but it does what it's supposed to so I just live with the trippy shit"

"What's it for" 

"It helps build strength, restores it after fatigue" 

Roman looked puzzled he felt very disorientated, it felt as though everyone knew something, he didn't. 

Peter leant in and looked at Roman

"That's healing pretty well" he touched the stitches, Roman flinched a bit.

Peter took the joint back and lay it in the glass ashtray, Roman was watching his every move. He knew there was key information that he was missing. 

Peter took Roman's hand and began to stroke it. 

"You'll be ok, it's probably just mixing badly with the other drugs in your system"

"I haven't taken anything" Roman found himself using that phrase a lot lately.

They held hands in silence, and in a strange and unprovoked move, Roman leant towards Peter's face. He took his face in the palm of his hand and kissed him. A small peck which lead to a long and passionate embrace. 

Roman looked at Peter, he saw beauty and hope. He brushed Peter's hair out of his face and they kissed again. 

In the middle of the night, whilst his mother slept on the sofa, Peter fell in love. 


	9. Euphoria, pleasure and passion  (NSFW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Peter engage in a passionate evening as they physically express their evolving love for one another

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will warn you in advance, this is going to be quite a smutty chapter and, whilst it furthers their relationship, it won't really push the narrative any further.
> 
> I haven't actually ever written smut before so forgive me, if it's shite. As a gay woman, I don't really have much insight into the 'ins and outs' (pun unintentional) of male on male sex, so do excuse me if it's not very convincing.
> 
> But I think it's a necessity to act as a release of sexual tension between Roman and Peter as they realise, physically, their love for one another.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for the continued support and kudos! 
> 
> Enjoy 😊

Peter took off his shirt and kicked off his shoes, Roman watched him and admired his hairy chest. 

Peter knelt before Roman and took hold of his shirt, he stared into Roman's green eyes. 

"Are you sure?" Peter began to unbutton Roman's shirt, he had already taken off his own. 

"Do it" Roman kissed Peter as he pushed him against the door. Peter took Roman's shirt off and saw the scars, sporadic lines that covered his chest and arms. There was a fresh one from a few days ago, it was across his chest, still red. His pale torso had thick purple bruises along his ribs, assumedly from the crash. 

"What is it?" Roman felt self conscious as Peter stared, but his response was to be defensive. He usually didn't let his sexual partners see that much of him, particularly as his 'sexual partners' were usually just blow jobs in his car by various prostitutes. 

"You are beautiful" Peter leant over him, pushing him onto the bed, his breathing was heavy as he kissed Roman's chest. Roman inhaled Peter's scent, stroking his hair as Peter kissed each of his scars, then working his way down to Roman's trousers where he slid his hand onto Roman's erect cock. 

Roman unbuttoned his jeans and Peter took them off. He gasped as Peter began massaging his penis, holding off from climaxing, just a few minutes more, Roman clasped the sheets and released. Peter then took his off trousers, briskly; his erect penis pushed against the zip. Peter took Roman and thrust himself into his rear end. Roman was bent over as Peter thrust passionately inside him.

Roman's breathing was heavy, practically panting as Peter fucked him. Roman groaned as he bit into the back of his hand, in order to muffle his joyous moans. Sweat dripped off Peter's face as he felt Roman's soft skin. Cum exploded from Peter's erect penis as he pulled out and they lay on the bed. Panting and naked. 

Their bodies were intertwined, sweat drenched as they looked at one another. 

"I think I'm in love with you" Roman whispered, catching his breath, as he inhaled Peter's hair, pulling the blanket over their naked bodies. 

Peter kissed him and there they lay.

"You think?" Peter jested, he struggled with emotions so glazed the statement with a dusting of humour. He stroked Roman's hair, it was messy. Roman took his hand and clutched it.

They fell asleep, locked in one another. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.s the next chapter will be back to the story!


	10. A headlight, submerged by rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened the night of Shelley's death?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to apologise for the lack of updates, I've been thinking about how I'm going to further the story and also have been really busy with other things
> 
> Second of all I want to thanks everyone who is still reading, I really appreciate it.

Just over a year ago....

"Every bird must eventually fly the nest, even if, by doing so, it means her time is up, S.G."

The note seemed out of character and Olivia re-read it, before slamming it down on the hallway table. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, she called up to Roman, no answer. As she rushed to the attic, it was clear that Shelley was not there. All that remained was a neatly made bed and a small pile of discarded books. 

"You stupid stupid girl" Olivia sat on Shelley's bed, she was afraid, placing her head in her hands. Her daughter was too young to go galavanting, she had very little experience in the real world. As an introvert, she very rarely left the house and preferred the company of her poetry. 

Hearing a familiar sound, Olivia dashed to the top of the stairs, the door opened.

It was Roman, he was drenched. The rain was heavy and the sky angry as the thunder cascaded through the clouds. 

"Is everything ok?" He noticed his mother's state of agitation as she walked down the stairs. She hugged him tightly, which worried him. 

"Have you seen Shelley?" 

"No, why?" He felt a knot develop in his stomach, particularly as he knew how violent the weather was.

Olivia grabbed the note and passed it to him, "It would seem that she has ran away" 

Roman opened the front door, he stuffed the note in his pocket. 

"I'll go look for her" 

"No" Olivia placed her hand on the door and pushed it shut. Roman stared at her. 

"I think I know where she's gone" 

"Where?" He grew irritated by his mother's lack of clarity in her half informative sentences. 

"I told her she musn't see him, that he's bad news"

"Who the fuck are you talking about?"

"A young man she met, he was at some poetry reading and since then she's convinced that they could be together"

"Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"The last time we spoke, I forbade it. It's easier for me to tighten my grip than let her go" she sat down on the stairs , Roman still stood by the front door. 

Roman was flabbergasted, none of this made any sense. "I need to look for her"

"Darling, you've seen the weather, it would be suicide to go out there"

"She may be hurt?"

"Or she may be gone and happy"

Roman knew his mother was leaving something out. He sat down on a stall and dropped his keys on the table by the door. 

"What are you not telling me?" He lit a cigarette and took off his soaking wet coat.

"Nothing darling, I just don't see the point in going to look, What will you do if you find her, she's made her mind up"

"Shouldn't you call someone?" 

"I'll give Johann a call, she might have gone there"

Olivia stood up and walked over to the phone 

Roman felt uneasy.

* * *

Meanwhile, a very frustrated and wet Shelley walked down the street. She looked down at her watch, it was two hours past the time which they was supposed to meet. 

The rain came down, it was dark and the street was lit merely by a glitchy street lamp.

"Its ok" she kept telling herself as tears ran down her face, "he's just late" she called him. No answer. 

' _Hey, it's me again, it's raining so I'm going to find somewhere to dry off, assuming that you are still coming, can you call me when you are near?"_

She knew he wasn't coming, but her fear of humiliation was so great that she convinced herself of all sorts of delusions to justify his betrayal.

As she walked further, she saw a light across the road. It was a bar, the rain distorted her vision but she was certain that it was a bar. She exhaled and turned to cross the road, the thunder was bellowing in the sky. She took a step into the road, it was quiet, no one was around. Then another. 

Bang, she smashed into the windscreen of the car and fell on the concrete. Her head impaled with fragments of glass. She called out in pain as she fell to the ground, her bones cracked upon her fall.

The driver got out

"Hey, hey are you ok?" He called out, he could only see the shape of her in the headlights. 

As he walked he gasped at the sight before him. 

The man got in his car.

* * *

"No, oh god" Norman Godfrey screamed as he fell to his knees. 

"Shelley? Can you hear me?" He held her, he knew she was gone, he had received a call about an accident.

He called Johann, he called the tower. The body was collected and Norman explained how he had found the body.

Johann took the body, and Norman called Olivia. The blame fell, assumedly, on her mysterious poet who they arrested for the murder, 

"I guess, when you have money, you really can get away with murder" Johann mocked.

"I didn't do it"

"Its ironic though, you must aggree"

"How so?"

"Well, this car that the police found, was yours"

Norman didn't understand, thus causing his psychotic break and eventual vacating of hemlock grove.

Johann hadn't disclosed that information to the Godfrey's, he instead tried his hardest to find the person responsible. 

It was Olivia's affair with Norman that was blamed for his untimely exit 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, I'm trying to give a bit of insight into what happened to Shelley, I have changed Shelley slightly.  
> Im playing around with the characters as well as the time frame in which this is happening. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy


	11. Back to life, back to sense, back to reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman meets Lynda Rumancek

Peter was awake and sitting rather solemn when Roman awoke. He looked at Peter and sat up, the headboard was cold against his bare skin. 

"You ok?" He asked, concerned by Peter's lack of movement. Peter slowly turned his head to look directly into Roman's eyes. He took his face in his hand and kissed him on the cheek. 

"What?" Roman grew more anxious as Peter's expressionless face remained the same. 

"My mother's out there" 

"Better yours than mine" 

"That's true _but_ this isn't a mansion, we won't be able to sneak you out" Roman lit two cigarettes, disconcerted by Peter's apparent shame in him. He passed a cigarette to Peter and glanced down at his watch.

"Shee-it" he couldn't help but smile at the situation, he had never been someone's dirty secret before.

"I mean, I guess it's fine, she does always go on about my not having many friends..."

'Friends' that word erupted in Roman's ears.

'I'm pretty sure friends don't fuck like we did' he thought but remained silent. 

"...And she did say she wanted to meet you" Peter continued his self affirming pep talk.

"It'd be worse if we hid here, so I think we should just go" Roman lightly stroked Peter's hand, Peter moved his hand and got up to get dressed. 

"Do you boys want some breakfast" Lynda called out from the other side of the door.. 

"Shit" Peter whispered, his voice was shaky.

"Guess that settles that" Roman leapt up and began searching for his clothes.

"How'd she hear?" Peter whispered as he pulled his jeans on.

"Its a trailer honey, I can hear everything" Lynda responded, she was unusually chirpy.

"We'll be right out" Peter called out.

Roman's grin was large as he chuckled. Peter smiled at him but was still terrified.

"What do we tell her?" 

"The truth" Roman shrugged as he put his shoes on and Peter threw a t-shirt on, chances are that it wasn't the same one he wore last night. 

Roman stood by the door and Peter stood behind him. Roman stubbed out his cigarette and placed it in the glass dish, Peter continued to smoke his, right down to the filter.

"Hang on" Peter said. He waited a few moments. Roman stared at him as he appeared complexed, his eyes closed as he inhaled a few deep breaths. He finished his cigarette and then muttered 

"Ok"

Roman looked at him and then opened the door. He wanted so badly to kiss him, to tell him it'd be ok. But Peter seemed on edge so Roman didn't.

* * *

"Morning, you must be Mr Godfrey?" Lynda held out her hand and Roman shook it.

"Hi, you must be Peter's mom, call me Roman"

"Right, well Peter implied I would have a little more time to prepare before I met you, but.... I guess not"

"No time like the present, right?" Peter poured two mugs of coffee on the kitchen counter and walked into the living room, carrying them. He had a grin on his face.

"I made pancakes, help yourself" Lynda said to Roman as they sat on the sofa, he began to roll a cigarette, she looked over

"Want one?" He asked

"Yeah thank you, just something to take the edge off, I dont smoke" she winked and sat back, Roman was taken back by her calmness and her slight tone of sarcasm.

"So, what are your plans for college?"

"I'm sure mother will bribe me into somewhere good" Peter sat beside him and placed a plate of pancakes down before them. 

"Go on, eat, gosh you need a good meal, there's not a bit of fat on you" she commented, at Roman's rather thin body. 

"So mom, what exactly did you hear?" Peter said quite harshly, Roman nearly choked on a chunk on pancake at Peter's bluntness. 

"So we're done with the niceties so soon..." Lynda smiled as she took a drag on the cigarette, she paused for a moment, taking in her power of the conversation. 

"....Yeah I'd say so" Lynda added.

"How long has _this_ been a thing?" She asked, still a soft grin on her face.

"We've been friends for a bit, mom I told you this"

"Mrs Rumancek, I..."

"Call me Lynda, sweetie, Mrs makes me sound old"

"Lynda, If you're worried about this effecting your aggreement with my mother, it won't , I doubt she evens knows"

"How much do you know about that arrangement?" 

"Nothing, I just know it's the same one you used to have with Vince"

"Ok, yeah Vince, wow he was a loose cannon?" Lynda derailed herself from a Vince anecdote and returned to the present topic of discussion.

"Im just worried, you have to understand that I don't want anything bad to happen to my son"

"It won't" Peter added

"I'll make sure it doesn't" Roman concurred

"Ok. So I guess that's that, right?" She reclined on the sofa, she wasn't one to badger and nag. 

"Won't your mother be wondering where you are? She seems terribly on edge these days" Lynda stuffed a pancake into her mouth 

"I doubt it, she doesn't actually give a shit" 

"Fair enough" Lynda said, she held the cigarette between her two fingers as she chewed. 

"I probably had better get going anyway, thanks for the breakfast" Roman stubbed out his cigarette and headed to the door.

"Good to meet you" Lynda called out, despite the very limited distance between the living room and the front door.

"I'll see you soon" Peter stood up and they kissed, briefly, on the lips, Lynda looked over. 

It felt strange to be seen and not actually judged.

They knew Olivia wouldn't be quite as calm.

* * *

Peter took a seat on the sofa and polished off what was left of the pancakes.

"So, is he your boyfriend?"

"I guess so?"

"Does he know what will happen to you in eight days time?"

"No, but I think I'll let him watch?"

Lynda looked to the t.v. screen, she was anxious. 

"Honey, I'm not sure that's a good idea?"

"Why not?" 

"It's not particularly pleasant to see"

"Its not particularly pleasant to experience neither" he jested 

"Does he know he's upir"

"I don't think he does"

"Poor boy"

"Just be careful, I don't want you getting caught in whatever feud he and his mother have" 

"I'm fine"

"I know, my little man is all grown up"

He rolled his eyes 

"But just careful, upir are not a race to mess with and I don't want you to get too comfortable, we don't know when we'll have to move again" 

Peter glanced over at his mother's sympathetic gaze, then turned back to the television screen. He suddenly felt a colossal surge of fear rise within him


	12. An unlikely alliance.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman speaks to Pryce.

The night was cold and eerie. Destiny stared at the sky, through her narrow window. She felt uneasy and unsettled. It didn't become clear to her why her senses were in a state of disarray, not until much later. By then, however, it was much too late 

* * *

Johann sat in his office, the time didn't matter, he'd already told Jack not to wait up. He had almost memorised the papers that lay before him, formulas and theories, applications for experiments, meetings about those experiments. He was half asleep as he sat back on the seat. There was a separate folder of papers for the experiments that he didn't intend on discussing. There wouldn't be meetings about those ones. He was prepared to explore every avenue in his ability. Whilst his fatigue started to get to him, he felt as though his breakthrough was close. 

He was yet to hear from Olivia, all of the days had merged into one big caffeine filled nightmare. He dared not waste his thoughts on anything but his work, his carefully constructed 'work' brain did not allow for anything else to pass through. He didn't worry too much about Olivia, she had become a recluse since Shelley's death.

The sun shone through the large glass windows, Pryce felt the heat on the back of his neck. He dared not look at the sun, he wasn't properly awake yet. 

He had several missed calls from Jack, "Shit". It was the voicemails that he dreaded for they would consist of emotions and truths that he was not ready to hear. They offer disintegrated from calm questions to passive aggressive, to tears being held back. Ultimatum to self doubt. 

"Sir? " Miriam knocked on the door and entered, she was wearing a red coat with black fur on the hood. 

'Was it winter already?' His mind felt boggled as he overthought her wintery appearance. 

"Are you alright, you slept here again didn't you?" she took her bag off her shoulder and sat it on her desk. She was trying desperately hard not to highlight his scruffy appearance, but her expression clearly indicated her worry. His back hair was messy and his chin had a faint morning shadow. The blue tie that he wore often was undone and his shirt was half tucked in. 

"Yes, thank you, give me a moment and I'll smarten myself up" 

"Sir" she left the office and sat behind her desk. 

* * *

A few moments passed, he smartened himself up in the toilet, which further added to his feeling of self destruction. 

"What the hell am I doing?" he stared at his haggard appearance, slightly improved by the unscented soap in the office bathroom. As a hospital, they had showers, but he decided not to be seen by the staff, it would only further stoke his sense of shame. The toilets on the managerial flaw didn't have showers, management was never meant to spend this much time here. Godfrey management never did anyway. 

His eyebags were thick and his skin pale and cracked. He walked into his office with a superficial smile on his face. 

"Mr Godfrey is here to see you" Miriam almost finished her sentence before Roman wandered in.

"You OK? You look like shit?" Roman said

"Thank you, I see you inherited your mother's tact" Roman reminded silent

"On the subject of Olivia, have you heard from her lately? "

"Not for a while, she tends to avoid me" the real world hit Roman as it suddenly dawned on his that he hadn't seen her for a while. Apart from his repaired car, there was little indication that she had even been home. 

"Guess that's fair, What can I do for you?"

"Well I just wondered if you had found anything on the wolf situation" he whispered the last part of his sentence, and much to his dismay, Pryce seemed amused by his statement. 

"I didn't look, Roman I can't be expected to go on a wild goose chase everytime you think of a conspiracy whilst on narcotics, I'd never do anything else if that were the case"

"Oh" Roman didn't dwell on it. 

"Was there anything else? Perhaps you saw big foot whilst tripping on ecstasy? "

"Fuck you and yeah there was something else" 

"Go on"

"Well, I, I think I'm gay" Johann's expression fell, he was perplexed by Roman's decision to confide in him. 

"It's nice that you can confide in me but why? Well what makes you think you are gay?", Roman list of female lovers were substantial, from what Olivia had told him 

"I've started seeing someone"

"Anyone I know? "

" Peter Rumancek"

"The Gypsy boy? Well that is news, I hope you used protection"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"They aren't the nicest cliental of people, what am I to say if I see your mother"

"Say whatever you want, but be careful as I will be your boss someday"

"Discretion then, noted"

"Ok"

"Ok", Roman turned and left, he felt strange. He and Pryce had never seen eye to eye but it felt good to tell someone. 

Roman walked down the white corridor, his hands in his pockets, his head down. He knew that he'd run this place one day, but for now he enjoyed existing under the blanket of irresponsibility.

Pryce stood in his office, he was puzzled, his focus lost. He was angry. 

"Miriam, call Mr Rumancek, I need to see him, stress the urgency" 

"Very good , sir"

Johann pulled out his dictaphone from the bottom drawer of his desk. He pressed the button to record 

_'_ I feel uncomfortable ; _semi -colon_ my sins are beginning to weigh down on my mind _full stop._

Whilst my intentions were mostly good _comma_ , I cannot help but feel lost in the mess of my own creation _full stop._ I must bot doubt what I am doing here, _comma_ as it will be career defining. _full stop._

It is hard to comprehend that, _comma_ once this is all over, _comma_ I will be the only one who can know what took place here. _full stop_.

I must persevere. _full stop.'_ he lay the dictaphone on the desk

_"_ Also, Miriam, call Jack. Arrange a reservation for this evening, his choice"

Pryce sat back on his padded office chair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the break in posting, I intend to post atleast once a week. I hope you are still enjoying this as I am enjoying writing it.


	13. I once knew what happiness is.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Johann go on a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter focuses predominantly on Johann and his husband and the strain that Pryce's research is having.

Johann adjusted his bow tie as he stood before the mirror in the bathroom. He combed his hair and was clean shaven. It felt like a first date.

"Are you ready?" Jack stepped into their bathroom and looked at him. Jack had a grey suit on with a blue shirt. His dirty blonde hair was combed back. 

"I think so, will I do?" Johann smiled and twirled slightly. Jack's stern face didn't move.

"Well, I'm still here aren't I?" Jack left the bathroom and Johann followed. As he walked past the bedroom, Johann saw a book on the bed. The title was explicit and unforgettable 

_How to save my marriage - knowing when it's time to walk away_

He proceeded past the bedroom and into the living room, Jack seemed in a hurry as he didn't look back. Johann looked at the apartment, it seemed strange. Nothing had changed, physically but the ambience was wrong. It smelt like a hotel room, a sweet sickly smell of potpourri. 

They left the apartment in silence and got into the black rolls royce, Johann got in the drivers seat and Jack sat beside him. The silence was awful, Jack looked out of the window as Johann started the vehicle. 

Johann exhaled, he desperately wanted to say something. Jack glared at him

"So how's the research going?" Jack was willing to try at the very least. 

"Yeah it's going well, I think I'm reaching a breakthrough"

"Great"

"How's your book going? Are you still researching or...?"

"No, actually I've nearly finished, it's to be published next month"

"That's good"

"What are we doing here?" Jack looked ahead of the road. 

"We're going for dinner" Jack rolled his eyes, Johann wasn't going to be able to 'cute' his way out of this one.

"You know what I mean"

"Yeah I do, it's just work, it's been hard"

"I know. I just feel like I never see you" 

"It will get better, I can promise you that" Johann took Jack's hand.

"I hope so, I want the man who I fell in love with"

They arrived at the restaurant and sat for a moment or two in the car.

"Will it be better?" Jack asked as he looked at Johann

"Yes, it will, and if it doesn't then you can go ahead and do whatever it says in that book of yours"

"You saw that, huh?"

"I did, part of me thinks you left it out on purpose"

"Part of me thinks that too"

"Shall we go in?" Johann took hold of the car door handle and Jack stopped him, he pulled Johann in and kissed him. They were locked in an embrace for a few minutes, it was like nothing had changed. It felt like the first time they kissed.

The valet waited anxiously by the car and the men got out and headed into the restaurant.

* * *

Upon arrival, they were taken to a table for two, which was situated by the large glass windows. The table was pre-laid with small glasses of water and neatly folded napkins. The room was lit purely by a variety of glass chandeliers and light fixtures which were sporadically yet tastefully attached to the walls. The waiter passed them a drinks menu and waited for their order. 

"Champagne!" cried Johann in an uncomfortable and theatrical way. The waiter nodded and wandered off. 

"What's the occasion?" Jack asked, a smirk crept across his face. 

"We are the occasion" Johann took jacks hand and held it in the middle of the table. 

"Need there be an occasion for me to show my husband how much I love him? And apologise for how awfully I have treated him"

"I love you too but you must understand that I need a husband not a man who occasionally appears and takes me out for a fancy meal" Jack retracted his hand. 

"I have been patient with you and tried to understand the immense stress that you have been under, but I just need to be a little selfish here in asking how much longer do I need to sleep alone in our apartment?"

"I've made a breakthrough, I know what I'm doing and soon it will be celebrations"

It irritated Jack when Johann gave him half answers or evaded the question entirely. 

"What does that mean?"

"It means, and I know that this is an awful request of me, but I just need a little more time" 

The champagne arrived, carried by a rather awkward waiter, he poured two glasses and passed the pair a menu each. 

"I will be back momentarily to take your order" he smiled and wandered to the table a little further back where a rather drunken woman waved her money around, much to the dismay of the male sitting opposite her. 

"Don't you want my money? " she cried repetitively. 

Johann and Jack paid little mind to her. 

"Steak looks good?" Johann commented as he perused the leather bound menu, the words were printed on black raised italics with a bone background. 

Jack looked at him and rolled his eyes. The waiter arrived promptly, the woman seemed to have been removed, it was much quieter now. Quiet enough to notice the piano which was softly started to drift in the background. 

The pianist was an elderly gentleman, smartly dressed in a tailed coat. The music was classical piano and wasn't particularly recognisable. It served a purpose and created a calming ambience. 

"Steak please, burnt" 

"Very good, sir"

"I'll have the shrimp, thank you"

"Very good, will that be all gentlemen? "

" Yes" Johann responded 

They sat in silence for a moment more until Jack said 

"Time, I've given you time. Let's not forget that when I met you, you were a self destructive wreck, it was only through time that you managed to get yourself together, long nights cut short by night terrors and the many times I had to take sick leave to be beside you after another meeting with those awful people and.... "

" I know and I appreciate you. I gave my life to you and I will never forget how you helped me but I can't just give up now, I'm so close"

"Johann when I met you, I didn't fall head over heels, instead I took my time and allowed us to blossom, my friends said I'd regret this and I never have, even when I have stood alone at a book signing or performed a professorial lecture, but I just feel cast aside. Needy is a pathetic emotion so I won't even entertain it but I just feel lost"

"I'm sorry that I made you feel that way, so what do you propose happens now? "

Jack took a moment, he had control of the situation. It scared him and excited him at the same time. Johann never broke eye contact as Jack condensed his tidal wave of emotions. It was too much, he had many things that he wanted to say, things that he'd rehearsed alone in his mind. But now, when faced with the situation in real life, it was much harder. Terrified, he looked at Johann, his face emotionless and tired. 

" I propose that we enjoy our meal and then go back to ours and enjoy each other and as we lie in our rather neglected marital bed, and I propose that we simply lie there and enjoy the peace" His response was vague and he could see that it hadn't eased Johann's anxiety, at all. 

"That sounds like a most wonderful night, but in regards to the future? our Future? " Johann was nervous, he was scared about how far he could push Jack before the 'D' word reared it's head. He just couldn't cope in the lulled false security of Jack's euphoric proposal. 

" The future? Well I know that once you are invested in something it's pointless for me to try and dissuade you from it until you have seen it through. It's one of the things that I knew about you from the beginning. But. Once you have completed this project and I have gotten the book release out of the way, we should go somewhere and just enjoy our time, I married you because I didn't want to spend my time with anyone else"

"I think I can do that" Johann smiled, overwhelmed with the sense of affection that he has for the man before him. "I think you might be the most amazing man that I have ever met, and I love you, eternally" 

"Now, let's enjoy our evening" Jack lifted his glass and they toasted. He then leant forward and kissed Johann.

"By the way, I had the strangest conversation with Roman Godfrey today" Johann began and much to his surprise, Jack responded with a slight of interest. 

"How so? "

" He says he hasn't seen Olivia for a while, its as though she has disappeared"

"Has he reported it? "

" The police don't really share much of an aggreeable relationship with young Mr Godfrey, in his adolescence Olivia used them as a glorified time out, so I assume he won't bother"

"What a caring family you have found yourself intertwined with"

"The Godfrey's are most unusual, I must admit, but I suppose they are still in mourning, glow worm was the only goodness in that family"

The waiter placed the food down before them and they thanked him. They ate the food and basked in the faint piano music that filled the air. 

* * *

As they arrived home, they swiftly allowed the evening to flourish into a celebration of each other. It was most romantic as they engaged in a long overdue and passionate love making.

Johann didn't look at his phone for the entirety of the evening, it instead was left on the coffee table. Johann and Jack lay together in bed, sweat drenched. Johann fell asleep first. Jack placed the marital aid book on the book shelf and instead found himself ingrossed with his guilty pleasure, a long and meaty Stephen King book. Johann was asleep at this point and Jack turned off his bedside lamp. He glanced over at Johann and was gleeful as he read his book. Lit solely by the one bedside lamp, Jack felt relief and joy. He was never able to fall asleep too easily so he allowed himself to dive deep into the hefty novel. 


	14. Hell? Do you know it?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar face returns but something is wrong

Roman awoke to the front door slamming shut. It was heavy and loud and startled him, scrambling around his room, he dressed hastily. Footsteps could be heard clicking down the hallway, Roman wandered to his bedroom door and pressed his ear to it. 

Silence.

Perhaps he'd dreamt it? He thought as he waited cautiously behind the door. He began to open the door, his hand on the door handle as he allowed it to open, just a crack. His face was sweating and he felt an awful pit in his stomach. He inhaled and allowed the door to open a little more, peering his head around the open door. He saw nothing but the oak balcony that sat dormant atop the stairs. The carving was initially supposed to represent snake scales, when the house was built, but had faded to simple scratches in it's archaic condition.

As he stepped out his room, first his head, then his body carefully followed. He was met with a frightful sight. Standing beside his doorway, pale and vague. His heart began to race as he stared at the face before him. He tried to maintain composure but inside he felt as though his organs were going to collapse. 

"Shit" he muttered as the face leant in closer. It was Olivia, her hair was tied in a ponytail revealing her gaunt face. Her cheekbones stuck out and her pupils were dilated and black. A grin spread across her face as she inhaled him. Her skin was pale and felt cold as it touched his face. She had untreated scratches on her face and dark shadows beneath her eyes. Dirt and gravel covered her face, as though she was a corpse who had just crawled out of her grave. As she stepped back, he noticed identical red marks on her wrists, made by some sort of restraints, her long nails had dirt stored underneath them. 

"Are you ok?" He exhaled stupidly, but he had to break the silence somehow. Her face stiffened, the smile sank into anger and she broke her gaze. 

"Mom?" He convinced himself that if he kept speaking, he would somehow help the situation. She blinked and turned to face the bathroom, she took sharp short steps and slammed the door behind her. Her white dress was torn and bloodied. 

Roman waited a moment of two, staring at the closed door. He felt disorientated and a little frightened. Nervously, he headed downstairs. Heading to the kitchen, he made a mug of coffee and tapped the kitchen counter, anxiously. He wasn't sure what to do? Who to call? So he simply stood there and waited. The kitchen was brightly lit by sunlight as it came through the windows. It relieved him to see the day was normal, it wasn't some sort of apocalypse.

By the time he had drank his third coffee, he heard the bathroom door open and walked towards the staircase. His mother walked down briskly, wearing a white jacket and matching knee length dress. She was wearing black flat shoes. Her hair was down and rested on her shoulders. In the short time before she left the house, he noticed that her eyes were still black, and face gaunt. She didn't look or even turn her head to acknowledge him as she hurried out of the front door. She instead put her thick rimmed sunglasses on. The way she moved was primal, desperately she got in her car and clumsily drove away. The car screeched as it rushed down the immense gravelled drive. 

He stood by the door and watched her leave, there was little point in trying to stop her. He instead took a seat and lit up a cigarette, he decided to wait. Sitting in the front room, he rested the cigarette in the glass ashtray. There was a large chunk missing from it, his mother had told him that it was from the many times she had thrown it at his father.

The room was lit by a lamp, he hasn't bothered to open the curtains. Cigarette smoke ruminated around the room. 

He texted Peter.

_Hey , want to hang out today?_

There was a slim chance that Peter would respond, he never usually knew where his phone was. But Roman rested it on the table, nonetheless. It was solemn and quiet in the house, his heart had began to steady and in this mind he began to construct what had just happened. 

* * *

Lynda was laying on the sofa when a loud banging sound bellowed on the door. It jolted her awake and she almost fell on the floor. She grabbed the clicker and turned the T.V. off.

The door knocked again, louder.

"Shit" she rushed around the room and hid her bag of weed under a lose floorboard, she picked up her metal 'antique' lamp as it was the heaviest thing to hand. The pounding continued and she carefully walked to the door. She peaked behind the curtain, but was relieved to see the tall upir standing by the front door. Olivia stopped knocking and stared at Lynda it was almost primal. Her face was stern as she glared at the woman. No yelling just an unspoken intimidation.

"Oh crap" Lynda was terrified but tried to be calm, she'd never seen an Upir in such a state of desperate hunger. She'd only ever heard stories, as wealthy beings it was generally unheard of for an upir to starve oneself to such a sense of insanity.

"Olivia, if you can hear me, I'd like you to remember that I'm the only one who can help you, don't kill me"

"Well I'm not here for the fucking conversation" a gruff voice replied and Lynda opened the door, Olivia's voice sounded in duality with a darker and more sinister tone. It was angry and silent.

"Jesus christ what happened to you? " Lynda asked, as Olivia stood before her, her face had began to sprout thick grey veins. They could be seen under the sunglasses as they spiralled towards Olivia's cheekbones. 

Olivia walked into the kitchen whilst Lynda rushed to the bedroom to collect the vial. In the fridge was a plate of freshly rolled meatballs, raw. Olivia looked at them, they smelled tantalising. She reached in and grabbed one, chewing the raw meat, allowing its essence to electrify her senses. It was positively orgasmic. Lynda stood behind her. The green vial in a tiny bottle.

"Sorry, I... " Olivia said, meat filled her mouth as she held her hand in front of it.

" It's OK, just don't go overboard" Olivia took a handful of meatballs and began stuffing them into her mouth. She chewed the meat and the excruciating hunger in her stomach began to ease. 

"When your done, let's do business" the colour began to come back to Olivia's cheeks with each ball of raw meat. Lynda walked into the living room and sat down at the table. There was mug on top of a small white plate, from lunch. Lynda pushed it over the vial still in her hands. Both elbows on the table, she looked over at Olivia. Lynda wore a cut off T-shirt and ripped denim jeans.

Olivia looked at the plate to see only a dozen of the large meatballs remaining. At this point, her politeness and sense of repulsion in Lynda had come back. She felt ashamed as she wiped the meat from her lips, rinsing her hands off under the tap.

As she walked into the living room, Olivia dusted the sofa with her glove before taking a seat. She removed her sunglasses and Lynda turned around in her seat to face her.

"So you're feeling better? " she jested.

" Quite, I've never, that's never happened before"

Lynda passed her the vial and Olivia held her left eye open, revealing her wide starved pupil. The eye was pink and the grey veins what began to form behind the pupil. Holding the bottle above her eye she tilted her head back and dripped the liquid into her socket. Then repeated the same with the right eye. She reclined in relief as she exhaled, overwhelmed by the feeling. The bottle in her hand as they fell beside her onto the sofa. There was a feeling of sinking as her body began to warm, her blood pumped. She screwed the lid back onto the bottle.

After a few moments, Olivia composed herself, only to find Lynda pulling a bag of weed from beneath a floorboard. Olivia sat up and brushed her hair off her shoulders, she looked at her hands the grey veins had began to dissipate and face. 

"Thought you were the cops" she said, as she sat beside Olivia and began to roll a joint. 

Olivia sat up in a state of calm, in her compact mirror, she was relieved to see her eyes had resumed a normal state.

"What happened to you?" Lynda asked, she lit up the joint and passed it to Olivia. 

"A whole mass of awful, wonderful things" she half smiled as she placed her gloves and mirror into her small white purse. Olivia looked at her knees, thick purple bruises had formed over the majority of her soft skin. 

"Not that wonderful, you could have starved. Or well gone insane, you know I'm not too sure about the biology of you people" Lynda folded the plastic bag over and left it on the table, next to some unused papers.

"Yes, I will admit it all got rather scary" she took a drag of the cigarette and exhaled it through her nose. "Have you seen my son, at all?" She continued as she passed the joint to Lynda. 

"Yeah I have" Lynda took a large drag and held it for a few moments, passing it to Olivia.

"Seems to have found a friend in your son" Olivia took a drag off the joint, and passed it back to Lynda. Olivia chewed her nail, it hurt, she looked down at her skinny fingers. The nail really started to hurt, as she stared at it, it became clear that a large splinter had become lodged under the nail. After a few moments of discomfort, Olivia caught hold of the wooden splinter and slid it out from under the nail. 

"That's true, he's a nice boy, not much meat on his bones but he didn't say no to seconds" Lynda said, she noticed Olivia was not listening.

"Seems a bit troubled though" 

"Indeed, it has been difficult for us" Olivia examined the large splinter, it was about 3 inches long. It mesmerized her that she hadn't noticed it sooner. She held it between two fingers in front of her eyes.

"That is something ain't it?" Lynda looked at the splinter, Olivia passed it to her and took the joint.

Lynda looked at the small piece of wood for a moment longer before flicking it on the floor.

"I imagine that's a relief" she reclined on the seat, they both stated at the television, despite it being off.

Olivia nodded, she had no response, instead they sat on the brown sofa. They sat and smoked for a while. It took the edge off.

"I will be requiring another bottle of my medicine, very soon" Olivia turned to Lynda who was inhaling a large and final drag of the joint.

"That's fine, the price is still $5000 a bottle"

"Won't be a problem". Olivia took the joint and enjoyed the last bit of it before stunning the remaining chunk of rolled up paper into a dirty metal ashtray that sat on the coffee table before her. It was filled with discarded butts and ash. She carefully placed it back on the table. Lynda paid little attention, she was rummaging around the sofa for the remote.


	15. Knowledge is power, but it comes with consequence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman goes to see Destiny

Yellow eyes looked at him, it snarled as it looked at him. Blood seeping from its teeth, the brown fur was soaked. It's nostrils were flared as it growled at him. It crouched before him, leaning in closer to the prey. The beast that haunted his nightmares. 

Roman opened his eyes. 

It was about 6pm when he awoke, he had been napping on the sofa and had spent as much time as he could bare in the house. He desperately wanted to find out more about the werewolf that he had witnessed. His dream never veered past that part, maybe his brain refused to remember anymore. It intrigued him and terrified him, what lay beneath this town that he had spent his entire life in? Was there a sense of something paranormal lying beneath the gravel of these archaic roads? 

Beside him was a notepad, when he awoke in the early morning from a vivid nightmare, he often found himself desperate to scribble down what he had seen. A detail more, a little bit closer to the truth. Maybe a scent or an image that he hadn't encountered before. Roman got up and combed his fingers through his hair. Nervously, he made the decision to visit Destiny. It scared him and he had taken his time heading to this point, as he knew that she probably had the answers that he craved.

He put his long black coat on and got into his car. The sky was starting to darken, there was a certain nip in the air. The crescent moon was high in the sky, barely visible through the clouds. Roman started the engine and headed down the driveway. He picked up the speed and allowed the breeze to overpower him. It was wonderful. He slowed ever so slightly as he got to the main road, it was quiet at that moment. 

It didn't take long to drive into town, there was a certain peace to hemlock grove as night approached. The citizens didn't tend to go out after a certain hour, only the drunks and the disturbed or unsettled were wandering the streets as evening approached. 

The bars were busy with the usual groups, he observed a group of middle aged men who were standing outside the local bar. They had cigarettes hanging out of their mouths, a cloud of smoke surrounded them like a individual mist. Electric cigarettes had been introduced into the town a few years back, but to little prevail. The smokers of the town had little interest in changing their ways. Half drank pints lined the window ledge outside the bar, one of which had become an ashtray and was filled with cigarettes butts. Most of the glasses had been there for a while, they were dusty and filled with rain. The men seemed to drink the pints of house ale in two parts. Two large, manly gulps and the pint was empty. They laughed loudly as they stood outside, much to the irritation of the women, their wives, they sipped wine and chatted at the table outside. Over the table stood a large green umbrella, it was sunbleached and pale. The women sucked on their cigarettes and held them between their forefingers, talking passionately and with much vigour. They expressed themselves with grand hand gestures. 

Roman glanced at them briefly as he drove past, he parked up and approached the bulidng where Destiny lives. As he got out the car, he walked over to the door and pressed the correct buzzer. She answered, after a while, and opened the door. 

He wandered into her apartment, she was wearing denim shorts and an off the shoulder blouse. 

"Hi" he said, anxiously. 

"Roman? How are you? , is it Peter?" She remained calm as she poured two cups of tea and invited him to sit at the circular 'reading' table that was centred in the middle of the dining room. Yet she already had an inkling of why he was there. 

"No it's nothing like that, I just wanted to ask you a question"

"Go ahead"

"What do you know about the paranormal within this town? He worried his hands as they were resting on the table. 

Destiny felt uncertain so decided to unpick this situation, carefully.

"Paranormal, in what context?"

"Werewolves" he whispered.

"You've lived here longer than I? What makes you think I'd know?"

"You have a greater grasp in that world, palm reading, you know?" she ignored his blanket generalisation of her spirituality. 

"Why werewolves?"

"I saw one, the night of the accident, and I can't stop seeing it. It's in my nightmares and I feel like I'm going crazy?" 

"Have you talked to Peter about this?"

"I tried, he just brushes it off"

Destiny wasn't sure what to say, she couldn't lie to him but didn't want to drop Peter in any sort of danger. 

"There have been rumours of werewolves, tribes of people who change on the full moon. I have heard of this, I have had very little contact however. They are one of many supernatural creatures who inhabit this town"

"There's more?" He felt relieved as she confirmed that he wasn't losing his mind. 

"Yeah" Destiny took a long sip of the tea, allowing a pause. He looked at her, eyes wide. She hated the fact that she couldn't just tell him about Upir, and how he was one. She dared not, the situation had to be dealt with a certain level of delicacy..His naivety was irritating but she knew that it wasn't his fault, his mother had kept in the dark. 

"I see your wounds are healed" she digressed from the topic.

"Yeah, they have"

"Are you ok?, apart from the visions"

"I think so" the conversation depleted into empty endearments as they sat at the table. 

"I thought I was going crazy" he said, relief in his tone. 

"It's easy to become tangled in the mess of reality" she clutched her cup.

The room was brightly lit with a collection of candles, each placed in a colourful holder. The one that Roman found particularly interesting was one with metal netting around the holder, the flame glowed blue and was protected with a wide glass dome. The candle holder was in perfect condition, wax was dripping into the metal plate which the holder stood on. It stood beside a large framed photo, in which there was a picture of a statuesque blonde lady. Her face was stern as she stared into the camera, the background was white and she wore a button up red blouse. Her blonde hair was long and had light blue streaks running through it. Her arms were covered in bangles and a long and windy branch tattoo trailed up from her wrist to her left shoulder where it descended into blue petals. She had thick eye liner and pale pink lips. 

Roman stared for a few moments and turned his gaze back to Destiny.

"So what's your deal then? Are you a witch?"

"Not a witch, I act as a vessel for spirits to communicate through and, with regards to the candles, I've found that it's best not to piss off the dead" he wanted to laugh but her face was stern. 

"Is she a spirit? " he pointed to the blue haired lady, 

" No, but she is lost, I keep that candle burning with the hope that she'll find her way. Anyways I heard about your sister, I'm very sorry" She noticed his face drop, it clearly still upset him. 

"How did you hear? Did you see her?" He felt comfortable amongst the eerie aesthetic that the room collated. 

"No, if I'm honest I can't hear her, which is good. It usually means a spirit crossed over without unfinished business" 

Roman nodded, disappointed and stood up, and so did Destiny.

"I'd best be going" he said impishly

"Its fine, look Roman, take care of yourself, be careful how far you dig into this"

He didn't respond and instead left the apartment. 

As she watched his car pull away, Destiny picked up her phone and dialled Peter. No answer, she left a message 

' _When you get this, call me, we need to talk'_

She hung up and sat at the table, she felt uneasy the feeling hadn't improved by Roman's visit. Her stomach tightened as she found herself hunched over, she crashed to the floor behind the door. Clutching her stomach, she reached to the table, and pulled out a small tablet. She swallowed it and sat back, against the door frame. Blood had began to trickle from her nose. Her eyes clouded over as her blood froze for just a moment. For just a moment, her body was still as a corpse. 

"Peter what have you done?" She growled as she passed out, the tablet was kicking in and she was overwhelmed with calm as she let her hand fall beside her. 

* * *

Roman's drive back was different, he hoped he'd feel relief but as he began to unpack the conversation, it dawned on him that he was being kept hidden from something. There was a piece of this puzzle that he couldn't unpack

He pulled off into the old abandoned hospital, he just needed to sit alone and smoke. He assumed his mother would be home by now. Hopefully looking less like the fucking evil dead. As he walked further into the abandoned bulidng, he heard voices. Muffled voices. He wrapped his scarf around his neck, it was colder in the hole ridden building than outside. The walls looked cleaner in the night light, the rot and decomposition of the archaic neglected architecture looked less dangerous as the moonlight lit it. It appeared almost romantic, the broken glass light fixtures and the smashed windows were, hidden away in the shadowy parts of the bulidng.

He stepped further in, the voices got louder. It wasn't in his head. Peering around the corner of what used to be a ward, he saw a familiar face. 

"You weren't supposed to fuck him. Just keep him out of my way" Pryce spoke in an angry whisper.

"I think you forget how much trouble I could get you into" He continued 

"Look man, I couldn't stop it, he was getting too inquisitive, plus you didn't mention the drugs and overall self destructive personality" Roman peered further around the door and saw that it was Peter who he was talking to.

"He thinks you love him"

"I do, I love him in a keeping me out of jail way, how much longer do I need to be your day care "

"Until I tell you otherwise, listen you gypsy piece of shit, I just need you to keep him alive and out of my way, I can't let you ruin this, I've come too far" 

"That's what I'm doing, I can't help that I've developed feelings for the sad pathetic kid, he's like a bird with a broken wing"

"No, you are leading him on, teasing him with false affection" 

"Roman isn't stupid, he's dangerous. Can't you just throw him in the psychiatric ward or something? If you care that much" Peter got louder as he stood over the neatly dressed man. 

"You're kidding aren't you, his mother would never allow it, she'd destroy me"

"Why is everyone so afraid of her? "

"Assumedly you have never met her, Just get your shit together" Pryce walked away and Peter lit up a joint. Roman stepped behind the wall carefully and sat down, his back pushed up against the wall. 

"Yeah, I'll get my shit together. You middle class cunt" Peter muttered to himself as he took a drag of the joint. 

"Its a hallucination" Roman whispered to himself as he wrapped his arms around his legs. Peter wasong gone and Roman simply sat in the abandoned wreckage. It was freezing, yet his heart was pounding. He tried to steady his breath but couldn't, his hands were shaky as he pulled a tin out of his pocket. With a great deal of difficulty, he took a cigarette out and lit it. Tears began to build as he shivered against the wall. 

'Fucking idiot, why did you trust him? He's a gypsy he's scum. You know better. How could he love you?' his mind began to wander into familiar dark places. How could he have been so stupid, perhaps it was a dream. 

He inhaled the smoke and allowed it to cloud before him. 

"Its a hallucination" He repeated, placing his palm on his head. He stubbed out the cigarette and steadied himself as he got up, pushing against the unsteady wall. 

He walked towards the door and noticed a figure in his car, a light coming from a cigarette, the headlights beamed. 

As he approached, it became clear who the face was. He looked at him. The cold wind bit into him as he was stared at the car. The headlights were beaming brightly into his eyes. He was afraid, he reached into his pocket and took out an old friend, a small glass vial which he snorted into his nose. It gave him Dutch courage, 'who knows' he wandered 'If I'm lucky it might kill me' 

He walked towards his car

"You know that this is technically breaking and entering" he called out to no answer. 


	16. The truths hurts? Yeah it hurts like hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman has confronts the man in his car, which leads to a bloody showdown

Roman stood in front of his car, Peter sat in the drivers seat. 

"I thought I saw you sneaking around" Peter said, his voice was difficult to hear over the roar of the engine. "Get in, let's talk", he continued 

"Is it true?" Roman asked, his voice was shaky as he was lit by the headlights. He squinted slightly as they beamed in his eyes.

"Partially, Johann asked me to keep an eye on you, but I..."

"Don't lie to me, I heard you, don't tell me you fell in love" 

Peter shrugged and got out of the car, flicking the cigarette onto the ground. As he walked towards Roman, or leant on the bonnet. They were lit purely by the headlights. Peter was remarkably calm as he sat on the red bonnet and looked up at Roman. 

"I didn't want to show weakness, that's all" Peter reached out for Roman's hand and Roman stepped back. 

"Love is weakness?" Roman said, he was trying to remain steady as the bitter wind cut into him.

"I stand to lose everything here" Peter's brow firmed, he tried to remain calm.

"Jail , I heard" Roman rolled his eyes at Peter

"Yeah jail, which in the real world is a bad place, it isn't just a time out that mommy uses for discipline"

"Jail for what, smoking a few joints?" Roman disregarded Peter's attempt at belittling him.

"That's your problem, the way you see is tinted through those rich boy lenses, however if _I_ went to jail, they would destroy me"

"Fuck you" Roman muttered, clearly Peter's true colours were beginning to show.

"Guess what Roman? The truth hurts, you are just a bored addict, a spoilt little boy, no one would love you, no one could you are ridiculous, I wish I hadn't saved you" Peter stepped closer, he spat as he spoke. Tears began to build in Roman's eyes, the cold was vicious.

Peter leaned in closer and whispered

"What are you going to cry now?" He laughed theatrically at Roman.

Roman punched him in the jaw. Blood flew out of his mouth as he almost fell to the ground, merely saving himself by holding onto Roman's car. Peter dug his nails into the fresh paintwork and pulled himself up, wiping the blood away from his lips. He bundled his fist and plummeted it into Roman's ribs, which made a crack sound on impact. 

It was the best he could do, Peter had not expected this to happen and was somewhat unprepared. 

"Ahh fuck" Roman held his ribs in agony, he doubled over and exhaled loudly. Peter looked at him sympathetically but rather arrogantly and pushed the man further by saying 

"Bitch" he laughed and jeered, in the back of his mind, he knew he needed to stop, upir were not a breed to be messed with. 

Roman remained in his doubled over state, he exhaled and inhaled, dramatically, making sure that Peter heard

"You ok, buddy?" Peter asked as he put his hand on the small of Roman's back, Roman jolted upright and catapulted Peter off his feet. The gypsy boy fell on his back in the dirt, Roman got on his knees and grabbed a fistful of Peter's hair. He smashed the boys head against the gravelled floor, he did this about four times. Peter groaned in agony as his vision became blurred. 

Peter swung a punch and hit Roman in the face, it had little effect, it split Roman's lip but he didn't seem to even feel it. Instead he stood up, Peter grabbed his ankle and tried to hurt him, his vision was blurry and he was disoriented. Roman kicked Peter off him and began to press down on his throat with his boot. 

"Stop" Peter groaned through the lack of air, Roman simply stared at him, the darkness and cold air acted as background. It was completely silent, the only sound was Peter's plea. Roman's eyes blackened, he was seething with anger. 

"End it" Peter whispered, as he choked.

"Too easy" Roman chuckled, as he moved his foot and stomped on Peter's head. Peter was barely conscious, his eyes had begin to swell. Roman delivered one final blow and kicked Peter's head as though it was a football. 

Peter was unconscious, blood dripping down his nose. Roman climbed into his car, Peter's body lay inches from his tyre. As he revved his engine, in an attempt to alert Peter, he emptied the entirety of the coke from the vial onto a mirror. Roman snorted the entire thing and lay his head back as he felt the drug begin to work. There was a sense of relief and calm as he allowed the evening breeze to wash over him.

His state of drug fuelled nirvana was interrupted by a small groan. Leaning his head over the car, he saw Peter beginning to wake up. Roman leapt out of the car and knelt over him. Peter's eyes were swollen and purple, with a small gap in which he could barely see. He saw the figure standing over him.

Roman stared at Peter, blood dripped out of his spilt lip and his teeth were stained with blood as he lay on the ground.

"You will stop breathing and you won't be allowed to draw a single breath starting from the moment I get into my car, and not until I am ten miles away, will you be allowed to take a breath " Roman wiped away blood as it dripped from his nose, Peter began to splutter some sort of sentence 

"I'd be real fucking careful what you say next" he stared at Peter and leaned in to hear him

"I'm sorry" Peter muttered

"Too fucking late" Roman laughed and took a slow and theatrical walk back to his car he mimicked that he was walking on a tightrope, a walk he had to use many times after being pulled over by the local authority.

"You want to be praying that I don't run out of fucking gas" Roman called out as he got into his car and placed the key in the ignition and slowly turned it. The lights turned off and on as the engine started, and Peter lay in agony on the ground. Roman started the car and the wheels began turning, Peter's heart began to race as he heard the wheels begin. Just a few inches further and his head would be pummelled into the ground. Given Roman's current state of intoxication and anger, Peter held little hope for his own mortality. Roman moved the car forward just an inch, the large rubber tyre was touching Peter's skull. 

Roman revved the engine and it made Peter jump, he felt his last breaths leaving his lungs his throat began to tighten. He began to wheeze as Roman waited, looking at him.

He then reversed the car and moved away from Peter's head, the car made a squeal against the ground as Roman carelessly drove it towards the road. Peter lay and looked at the sky as he tried to stop himself from blacking out. His face was stinging as the icy breeze cut into his wounds. He couldn't move, his lungs stopped. 

Roman stalled a while, as he lit up a cigarette. 

* * *

Meanwhile, Destiny awoke, her vision was hazy as she propped herself up against the door. The entire room was tinted with double vision, it was spinning, her stomach ached. As she glanced down at her hands, she saw blood, her hands were covered in it. She couldn't scream, her senses and actions were happening in a slower state, it felt like she was underwater. 

Trying to focus her gaze, she looked at the table, she wasn't supposed to wake up until tomorrow, something had jolted her awake during the effects of the pill. This wasn't safe. Her ears were ringing as things, silhouettes began dashing towards her in the distance they moved. 

She tried to reach for her phone but found that her arms were numb, like they were alien and not a part if her body. It was disorienting as she focussed on one figure who stood before her. It stopped and looked at her, the face was hazy, the only recognition that it was human, came from the outfit, a long Victorian ball gown with a bow on the back of her skirt. She needed to get to Peter, her mind screamed at her with images of him, yet she couldn't feel him. She saw blood and felt pain but couldn't see his face.

Something was wrong. 

Whispers became white noise and she felt as though her ear drums would explode. It was incredibly painful, as though her brain was ready to burst out of her skull. She wheezed and cried out in agony, her body was paralysed by these visions. She felt their pain, heard their pleas.

That's when she saw them, clearer than before. Transparent figures were in her apartment, they all spoke, then yelled, about a hundred souls screamed for help. The figures were kinetic energies, fluorescent figures that vibrated as they circulated around her. One walked towards her, then another. Their crystal like outer skins revealed the organs that pulsated within them. It was illuminescent, the veins throbbed, it was asthough they were standing behind tinted glass, she tried desperately to see them clearly. Cries and screams got louder, 

"Can you see me?" One lady cried, her arms seemed to dissipate at the elbow. 

"My sister, miss, can you talk to her?" Another whispered, she had a British accent, her face was half missing.

"He killed me, the man with the black cloak, you must inform Scotland yard" another bellowed in a deep voice.

These figures got closer, louder. Destiny gripped her skull and said "shut up , shut up" tears began to roll down her cheeks, in the corner of her eyes she saw a red speckle. Blood, ran down her face, her eyes were never meant to see this, her body was rejecting her visions. Her body wasn't in the correct state to recieve these spirits. Somehow the veil had been lifted, she was able to exist inside the world of the dead. See them. 

The brain was designed to take only so much. 

"Destiny? Can you hear me?" One voice was louder than the others, female voice, the others turned into garbled phonetic gibberish, louder and louder in the background of the claustrophobic room.

Destiny nodded

"Leave me alone" her voice was deeper, dryer. The female put her hand on her cheek, she was young, barely a teenager, her face was bruised 

"Look at me" Destiny dared not. A man stood behind her, 

"No, please let go" the girl cried, Destiny opened her eyes and saw the hand drag her away. The Man had black leather gloves and a long coat. A small pair of circular glasses rested on his nose. 

"No, no" the girl screamed as he thrust a knife into her throat. Blood splattered into thin air, like iridescent dots of speckled red lights that flew around the apartment. Her head lay on the ground, still crying "Destiny help me" 

"You did this. This is your fault" the girl muttered, her voice got deeper. Destiny pushed herself onto the table, resting on her elbows. She stretched her fingers until they turned white to get the mobile.

She had it. 

* * *

Peter's face began to turn pale, veins appeared on his cheeks. His throat began to close. 

Romam stared at him and smiled a sinister grin. 

"Don't worry, I'll be doing the speed limit" Peter's strained his swollen eyes to see the car, it drove away. He held his throat in an attempt to release air. 

His lungs rapidly lost oxygen and there was barely life left. He felt himself losing consciousness. He grabbed the gravel beside him, digging his fingers into the hardened ground. 

He closed his eyes. Trying to steady himself, calm himself, he envisioned the campfire, his family. It didn't work, he couldn't focus, he felt his lungs begin to give way. He tried to image his mother, her smile as she smoked a joint and laughed. Vince, his warning.

"You don't want to get involved with Upir" he calmly whispered. His face began to fall and skin tore off his face, underneath was Roman. 

"No Peter. You musn't" he laughed a loud and high pitched laugh. Everyone was dead.

Peter jolted awake.

At some point he must have lost consciousness, because he awoke to a flurry of air. He choked and coughed as his lungs began to refill with air. The colour came back to his face and his body temperature began to improve. Wearily he sat up, and took a cigarette out of his pocket and popped it into his mouth. 

'Actually' he thought as he let the cigarette fall out of his mouth. He stood up, with great difficulty, holding his throbbing ribs.

He carefully stepped over to an abandoned wheelchair that sat outside the bulidng. His vision was limited and he felt his way around in the dark evening. A cloud of ash flew off the wheelchair as he collapsed onto it. 

His eyes were severely swollen and he knew that he had little chance of going anywhere with restricted vision, the abandoned bulidng had no lighting. The only form of light was the sky, the speckling of stars and the moon. He didn't feel at ease, there was a sense of desperacy, urgency. 

It was horrifying to consider but he knew what he had to do. He would have to burst one of his eyelids, just enough to allow the swelling to go down . 

"Shit" he took short sharp breaths as he placed his forefinger beneath the lid and squeezed the swollen socket. He couldn't scream, his ribs hurt too much. Instead he swore and cried as he saw blood trickle from the eye. 

When he opened his left eye, the sky seemed red, rose tinted by the blood on his pupil. He lay back and tried to steady his mind, he was cold, sore and beaten.

Roman was gone, he told himself. He convinced himself that he never needed to see that little fucker again. 

He exhaled and lay back. There was little point in trying to leave, his eyes stung and he suddenly began to panic as his sight was weaker in the left eye. He stared at the sky, his right eye closed, it was blurry and bloody. 

He started to consider the fact that dislodging the swollen lid, like he saw in a film once, perhaps wasn't a clever thing to do. 

* * *

Destiny gripped her phone in her hand, as though a treasured artefact. The spirits grew in numbers and each had a message to relay.

The jitters and cries of centuries of misguided spirits began to cause her ears too much pressure. Her ear drums were like lightbulb glass, the slightest increase in volume or pressure and they would burst. 

She wasn't supposed to be conscious. She wasn't supposed to awaken during the sedative. Her body reacted the only way it could, it was asleep, every reaction on top was too much. 

As she unlocked her phone, it was all disproportional. The numbers were huge and the screen was tiny, the numerical keyboard squeezed into the centre of the screen and protruded the edges. As she scrolled through her contacts, she could only see the first three letters of each name. The rest spilled out around her, creating a festival of random letters which circulated around her head. 

_'P E T_ ' she clicked the name and it rang out. 

As he answered, she dropped the phone, her body was paralysed by one face. The figures darkened, became shadows with crystal eyes, the only distinctions came from the outfits, the mere outlines. They stood over her

"Destiny? Hi? Can you hear me?" Peter said

She groaned, words became slurs.

She stood before her, Destinys eyes widened.

* * *

The door burst open and Lynda rushed in, she knelt beside Destiny and cradled her

"Its ok" she repeated herself to assure Destiny, who gripped her arms to see if she too was an illusion.

Destiny stares at the apartment. One face deluded her and hurt her. The others seemed to fade into the walls.

A girl with long brunette hair stared at her. She appeared to be trapped in a cylinder of water, her hair floated and her eyes were pale. She pounded on the glass, her body soaked through. She was silent and stared directly at Destiny.

"HELP" she yelled through the water,

"SAVE ME!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting and thank you for the constant support, I hope you are all enjoying this


	17. There was a boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their showdown, Roman sees red and continues on his path of destruction, leading to devastating consequences.

Roman sped down the road, he felt the wind on his face as he zoomed as fast as he could. 

"What have you done? " he cried as continued down the poorly lit street. 

"Why fucking ten miles? " tears rolled down his frozen face. All he could see was Peter lying in the dirt. Roman had no idea what ten miles was, or if Peter was even still alive. Anger was a vicious thing and he knew that he couldn't take it back. 

He directed his attention to the road ahead, a familiar face stood by the side of the road. He stared, his head was pounding and his stomach felt as though it might implode. It was Shelley. 

She was staring at him, her eyes were completely white and she seemed to vibrate, his vision became hazy. She smiled at him and waved, something wasn't right. As he kept staring, her face began to disintegrate but the smile remained. The skin blackened, as though she was turning to ash, it began to crumble. Her eyes remained as her flesh stripped to the bone. 

"Why didnt you save me?" she yelled, her voice was deep and gruff. 

Roman's car veered off the road, the wheels screeched and he came to an abrupt stop. He shot forward and hit his face off the steering wheel. His vision was blurry as he looked around and saw nothing. Simply trees and the dark sky were there to accompany him. The night was silent, the bitter cold wind left his face aching. Blood trickled down his forehead, his movement was slow. He felt dazed and disorientated as he got out of the car, he was imbalanced and nearly fell over. As he leant against the car door, he lit up a cigarette. 

The white tower stood proudly in the distance, lit brightly, it stood statuesque before him. 

* * *

Lynda opened the front door, it was Peter. She hugged him, his clothes were dirty and bloodied. 

"Where's Destiny?" he asked 

"She's taking a shower"

"What happened to you?" Peter took a moment to figure out his answer, he collapsed onto the sofa, simply replying 

"I pissed off an Upir" 

"Idiot, I warned you about that" Lynda headed to the bathroom to get some towels, destiny wandered into the living room. Her hair was tied back in a bandana and she wore a shirt and shorts. 

"Peter! Thank god" she hurried over to him and hugged him, she was still weak from her depletion into the other world, her mind still was nervous. Whilst the visions had blurred, they remained. 

Lynda walked in with bandages and towels, Peter's vision was clearer as the swelling had gone down significantly. 

"What exactly happened?" Destiny whispered as she stood before him, shocked by the scarlet bruises that covered his face. 

"He attacked me" 

"Unprovoked?" Lynda rolled her eyes as she boiled the kettle, placing medical supplies on the coffee table. She looked at his burst eyelid and winced, angrily "Think you're rocky do you?" she delicately dabbed the skin. 

"Finish the coffee please?" Destiny nodded as Lynda began to dress Peter's facial wounds. Destiny poured the coffee into mugs and pulled out a bottle of tablets from the kitchen drawer. 

"He saw me talking to Pryce, heard that I was deceiving him" 

Lynda began to dab the large cut on Peters forehead, and placed a compress onto his swollen eyes. She had stitches in the first aid kit, which she applied to the one eye, the pupil was bloodshot as the skin was purple and broken.

"My little boy, he could have killed you, why would you mess with an Upir like that?, huh?" 

"Its a long story" he cursed silently as she dabbed the open cuts 

"I wish he had killed me, wouldn't feel so shitty then" 

Lynda rolled her eyes, she was worried, but maintained a calm appearance, cuts and bruises were something she had far too much experience in. 

"Don't say that" Destiny said as she brought in a tray of coffee, the small bottle of painkillers were on the side of the tray. 

"He's gone now, I fucked it up" 

"Why lie to him then?" 

"I was protecting him, protecting all of us" 

"I told you he was vulnerable, on edge, Peter you shouldn't mess with that shit" Destiny said. 

Lynda and Destiny exchanged a look as Peter sat up and took two pills, his hands were shaking as he opened the small orange bottle. He struggled to open it and eventually managed to pop the lid off. 

"How about I run you a bath?" Destiny said, softly, placing a hand on his shoulder and re-sealing the pills.

Peter nodded as he stood up and limped towards the edge of the sofa, sitting on the arm of the frayed furniture. 

Destiny headed to the bathroom.

"I loved him, mom" Peter said as Lynda held him close to her, he began to cry, the salty tears stung his face. 

"He'll get over me, I guess, I couldn't win" she rubbed his back gently as he cried into the back of his hand.

The bath was ready, Destiny sprinkled herbal bath salts into the tub and Peter walked in, shutting the door.

Destiny sat beside Lynda, she had her legs open and her elbows resting on her knees, her head lay in her hands. 

"What a mess?" Lynda chuckled, her face was upset as she took a sip of the luke warm coffee. 

Destiny rubbed her back

"I've never seen him like this" 

"What did you see Destiny? Last night?" Lynda turned to her 

"I saw him, Peter, dying, I felt his pain, I thought he was dead" 

Lynda took her hand, 

"I think it might be time to leave this shit town" she smiled and stroked Destiny's hand. 

"I think so" she agreed 

* * *

Peter got undressed, he took extra care when taking his shirt off, his ribs were swollen and covered with emerging purple bruises. He threw the bloodied clothes to the ground. 

"Fuck" he hissed as he took off his trousers and lowered himself into the bath tub. The pain was excruciating, as the open wounds got drenched with the hot water. It smelt of lilac, the room was dimly lit, only the break of dawn to light the room. The bathroom had purple tiles and Destiny has lined the windowsill with various statues and trinkets. A golden Buddha sat on the dusty window pane. Alongside it was a serpent statue wrapped around a candle holder. The candle had almost burnt out, leaving just the wick at the bottom, drowned in wax. An Ash tray filled with cigarette butt's sat beside the toilet. 

A half burnt roll of sage was lying in a small glass tray on the side of the tub. 

He was extremely careful to not get his face wet, the bandage that Lynda had applied was fresh and he didn't want to get it wet. He closed his eyes, but all he could think about was Roman. The boy was clearly intoxicated and angry, it terrified Peter that he may have been lying in a ditch somewhere. Anything could have happened. 

He lay in the bath, submerged by water and exhaled, it was painful and he clutched his ribcage, he coughed as he lay his head back. 

* * *

Roman stumbled into the reception area at the white tower. The bright light hurt his eyes as he wandered over to the desk. The bearded and nealty suited man who sat behind the desk, put his phone down abruptly and addressed the young heir. 

"I'm here to see Pryce" he demanded

"I'm afraid you need an appointment, it's out of hours time now" 

"I'm Roman Fucking Godfrey, I don't need shit. One day I will own this place" the man was nervous but continued to deny access.

"I really can't let you go past Mr Godfrey" he stood up, his hand was resting on the taser in his side pocket.

Roman glared at him, he opened his eyes wide and stared at the security guard. 

"You will open that door, and then forget you ever saw me" he said calmly, and walked towards the door, the man pressed the buzzer and it opened. Roman wiped the blood away from his nostril and continued through into the darkened halls.

The man sat down and resumed his attention to his phone, he had forgotten the entire thing, as Roman demanded. 

Roman pressed the button on the elevator, the doors opened immediately. For some reason, he decided to go down to Pryce's lab. It made more sense that this is where he'd be. It was exhilarating. Roman felt as he stepped into the dark blue laboratory.

"Pryce?" he called out, his vision was hazy as the adrenaline began to wear off.

As he wandered around, snooping further, he came across a door marked _PRIVATE._ Roman walked in, in the centre of the room was a large white cylinder. The bright room hurt his night eyes, he scrunched them together and clutched his head.

"Shit" he suddenly felt dizzy as he wandered closer to the contraption. There was a loud ringing sound in his ears, a scream. 

"Pryce? You here?" he called out.

"Roman, what the fuck are you doing here?" Pryce walked in to the narrow room, he seemed panicked. What was he hiding?

"What is this?" Roman asked?, stepping closer to the cylinder, noticing that it was filled with water.

"Why are you really here?" Pryce picked up a syringe from the table, and held it behind his back.

"I trusted you, what is going on with you and Peter" Roman was facing the glass circle in the centre of the large contraption.

"Nothing is going on and I wouldn't call what we have, trust, I would say tolerance was more accurate" 

"I heard you two, don't fucking lie to me" Roman turned around, his drugged up state meant that he saw in double vision. He didn't notice Pryce hiding the syringe.

"I needed him to keep you away from here"

"Why"

"Be careful Mr Godfrey", I've come too far for you to ruin this"

"Ruin what? What the fuck do you have going on down here?"

Roman turned to face the glass once more, 

_S. G Prototype #1_ the plaque beneath the circle read,

Suddenly he saw it, a girl. She was trapped in the water, her body wasn't familiar but her eyes. He knew. Those eyes. She floated in the water, compelety naked, her eyes fixated on Roman, a tube attached to her neck.

"Wait,? What the fuck is this?"

Roman turned to Pryce, but before he could respond, Pryce thrust the syringe into Roman's neck, his face was vulnerable as he slid down to the floor, Pryce still holding him as he lost consciousness.

As Roman lay hunched over on the floor, Pryce placed the syringe in a plastic bag and put it in the drawer beneath his desk. 

"Ive come too fucking far Mr Godfrey, we have come too Fucking far" he checked Roman's pulse, it was faint. He dragged Roman by his arms into the main laboratory. 

"Couldn't just let it drop, had to poke your nose in " he dropped the boy back to the floor and picked up his phone. Locking the door behind him. 

"Security, yes it's Dr. Pryce. I need some assistance please, yes and a porter, I need to stress the urgency, thank you" within minutes security was with him, they helped hoist Roman onto a stretcher.

He was taken to a private ward, almost immediately. 

Pryce watched as they prodded him, attaching him to an oxygen machine,the overloading of chemicals had catapulted him into a comatose state. 

"Olivia, you need to get to the white tower, it's Roman, he's hurt" he said calmly as Olivia rushed out of her house.

Pryce stood and watched, anxious as he conjured up a story, a turn of events to satisfy the formidable Mrs Godfrey.


	18. Catabasis - Part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whilst in a coma, Roman finds out a dark truth.

"What the fuck is this place?" Roman yelled as he stood in a dark tunnel. It was cold and empty, the only assurance was a figure that stood before him in the distance. It was a glowing orb.

The figure manifested itself before him. 

"I do wish you wouldn't curse" a tear rolled down his cheek, he knew that voice. It was a voice he thought he would never hear again. It was Shelley.

"Shelley?" he called out.

* * *

Roman lay unconscious in the hospital, Olivia stood beside him, Pryce was next to her. 

"What the hell happened?" she said, her voice was quiet as she absorbed the extent of his injuries. The beeping of the machines filled the room. 

"Drug overdose, he came to the tower, I had to sedate him he was causing too much trouble, I guess he just had too many chemicals in his system, it overloaded him" 

"What did he say?" 

"It was garbled but he mentioned Peter" 

Olivia looked down to Roman, her heart was racing, she was terrified. She began to wonder what had caused this, and why was Peter involved.

* * *

"Am I dead?" Roman asked the glowing girl, as they stood in the blue tunnel. 

"No silly, but you are going to have to take this journey" 

"Why?" 

"Because you need to see" she walked away and he hurried behind her. There were echoes, shadows of words that bounced around the cavern. Olivia, Johann, he could barely distinguish the voices as they ruminesced around the cave. It was as though every word that he'd heard in his life was desperately trying to get his attention. He heard fragments of some sentences, phonetic part- anunciations of others. 

Shelley was fast as she rushed ahead of him, she seemed to know exactly where to go. The dim light of the orb lit the way. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette but they weren't there. 

"You could have left me my fucking cigarettes" he muttered

"I hate that you smoke, its such a dirty habit" eventually they reached a large doorway. Speckles of green poked through the cracks of the archaic wooden entryway. 

Before he could ask anything, Shelley pushed him through the door, he landed on the grass, it was rough like valcro on his knees. 

"Get up" a voice ordered him and he did, he looked to the shadowy figure that stood before the blistering sun. It was his father, Jacob Godfrey, he stood in a grey suit. 

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Roman asked, irritated 

Norman stood next to him and invited Roman to sit at a desk that was situated in the centre of the greenery. It was cold there but the sun was shining, the grass was bright and the area was surrounded with nature and hedges. 

" Wait" Norman had a large grin on his face, 

"Yeah listen to your father" Jacob Godfrey insisted 

"Olivia sure got her claws into you didn't she, mommy's boy" Norman sat at his desk and loaded something onto his laptop. 

"What is this? What does it have to do with anything?" Roman asked. 

Roman had always had suspicions about Norman, he was often not far away from Olivia. The revelation that he was in fact Romans father came with little shock, he had bigger things to worry about. 

" Olivia really fucked us didn't she?" Norman laughed and he and Jacob exchanged a glance, they ignored Roman. 

"Why am I here?, what do I have to see?" Roman got angry, this was a waste of time, time that he didn't have much of. 

Norman glared at him, his face firmed and he turned the laptop around. On the screen was Letha, she was sitting in her bedroom. In a dirty white blouse, her hair was long and her body was bruised. 

Roman didn't know what to say, he couldn't understand. 

"Guess Olivia didn't tell you, huh?" Norman laughed 

"The real reason that she doesn't call you anymore" he continued. Letha turned and lay on her back, she had a large swollen stomach. She gripped it and writhed in agony, blood began to seep through the shirt. Her face was gaunt as she began to pant. She was dying. 

"What happened to her?" 

"Pryce did" 

"Yeah she paid the 'Pryce' alright" Jacob spat out his words and they erupted into laughter. Norman rolled his eyes as she laughed.

"This isn't funny" Roman pushed the laptop screen away, 

"You'll soon see the joke" Jacob turned his head and revealed a large bullet wound, it was dry and Roman could see into his skull. 

"He better, otherwise what was the point?" Norman added, he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a large scarlet wound around his throat. 

They turned to face Roman and Norman closed the laptop. 

"What exactly did Pryce do?" Roman asked

"What ever he God damn wanted to" Jacob said

"Yeah, turns out he doesn't take grief well" Norman laughed, uncontrollably. Jacob joined in, they laughed, it got louder. 

"Dont you wonder why the lab is locked down? Why he needed you out of the way?" Norman said through tears of laughter, sinisterly he chuckled 

"Stop fucking laughing, whose the father? Is she dead? Tell me!" Roman yelled over them, but it was no use. As he laughed harder, Norman's jaw began to loosen. Jacob pointed it out to him, leading to more laughter. They disintegrated into dust, the world around him seemed to cave in. Large black cracks appeared in the sky, the laughter turned to splutters and eventually to silence as the walls caved in and the scenery decomposed into Ash. The ceiling caved in, it would appear as though the set had served its purpose. 

Roman curled himself up on the ground, he didn't understand any of this. 

* * *

"I want to take him home" Olivia demanded 

"I would strongly advise against it, he's stable but needs to be in a hospital" 

"I want my boy at home" 

"Olivia see sense, maybe you should call someone" 

"We both know damn well that there isn't anyone to call" she stood in the corridor, she looked at Roman through the glass. 

"Norman?" 

"It would seem Godfrey men are rather a fragile bunch" she shook her head sympathetically, and indicated a hanging motion with her hand. 

"Oh god, does Roman know?" 

"No, and it will stay that way " Olivia sat down on the plastic chair. "Marie called a number of weeks ago" 

"It's up to you completely, but I want it on record that I think this is a bad idea" 

"Noted" Olivia looked down at her hands, they were shaking.

* * *

Roman squeezed his eyes shut, when the carnage was over he gently opened them, one at a time. 

This room was far calmer than the last, he knew it well. It was less sporadic. It was the bar, that he often frequented

He took a seat at the bar, a bourbon on the rocks was sitting on a napkin before him. The place was empty, it was unnerving. The bar tender had his back to Roman. It was eerily quiet. 

The only noise that he could hear was the TV as it blared. A red breaking news bar was flashing across the bottom, the words were too small, he had to squint to try and make out what it said.

 _' HIT AND RUN VICTIM DIES AT SIDE OF ROAD'_ this story was familiar to him, he'd seen it before. 

On the Screen , the medical examiners were putting a black bagged up body into the back of the van. 

"Hey" the bar tender turned to him

"You are needed downstairs" Roman necked the drink and walked towards the wooden staircase. He was hesitant but knew that he couldn't escape it. 

As he wandered downstairs he heard muffled screams. The cellar was dark, apart from a spotlight that lit up as he walked further in. 

"Who's there?" he called out 

No answer 

As he walked towards the figure, he noticed a chain attached to the wall. It bound the creature to the wall. 

As the figure turned, he recognised the face. It taunted him. 

"Darling" Olivia stretched out her hands, she was gaunt and filthy. Her white suit was torn and her shoes were gone. She had blood splatters all over her and a large cuff was attached to her neck. Her fingers were bony and her skin rough. 

He stood and stared, nothing made sense here. 

"I need you to get me out of here" she spoke soflty, her eyes were black and wide. 

"Who did this to you?" she attempted to stand up, but was unable to. She crawled towards him and he knelt down, she took his hands in hers. 

"Mommy just needs to get out of here" she whispered, her voice got deeper. 

"I'm not sure I should" he felt very vulnerable, as though he was a child again. 

"Look, you little shit. I need to get out of here. I'm starving" her voice was deep and got louder as her face seemed to get paler. It seemed to age. 

"What are you hiding?" he asked, fearful of his mother. 

She was silent as she crawled away from him. 

He stood up. 

"I should have killed you. None of my children ever obeyed me" she spoke softer, as though she was about to cry. 

"What are you?" he asked, she stood up, forcing her neck backwards and her head to crack. Her spine made a cracking sound as she stood tall before him. 

"You'll see darling, you'll see what we are" she stood up straight, her neck was strained and her collar bone protruded through her skin. Down her neck, ran a black tar like liquid. 

"Its too late for me now" she hissed as the skin began to fall off her face leaving only a rotted skull. 

Roman sat on the floor and put his knees under his chin. He put his hands over his head. 

"This is fucking stupid, I haven't learnt anything" Shelley appeared beside him, she dusted the floor with her hand and took a seat. 

"Honey, you haven't even started yet" 

"I don't understand, why can't I just wake up" 

"Because the unconcious allows you to see" 

"Peters a fucking liar, this is his fault what more need I see?" 

"That's exactly why you need to take this journey" 

She took his hand and he looked at her.

"I miss you Shell, you made me a better person" 

She grinned and then faded away. 

The room shook in the way to which he was becoming familiar with. He sat back and watched as the setting changed. The walls imploded.

* * *

"Roman's in a fucking coma" Lynda muttered to Destiny, who looked over at Peter. He was asleep, after taking one of her tranquilzers. 

"Do we tell him?" 

"I don't know, the full moon is next week, he doesn't need the additional stress"

"Lynda, if Roman dies and Peter finds out that we knew and didn't tell him.... I'd never be able to live with myself" 

"I know, fucking Godfrey's they will be the death of me, she ain't going to let him see him anyways" Lynda said

"How did it happen? Destiny asked 

" Drug overdose" 

"We have to tell him. When he wakes up, let him decide" 

"You're right, as usual" Lynda shrugged and looked over at Peter, he was asleep on the sofa. 

* * *

Roman was still on the oxygen monitor, a large tube was coming out of the mask, he looked peaceful. Olivia sat by his bed in the darkened room, she was tired but dared not fall asleep. 

His breath was quiet as it registered under the breathing apparatus. 

She had no words, she simply just sat there, allowing the staff to pop in and out. Johann words looped in her mind, she couldn't help but wonder why Peter was involved. It irked her. 

She didnt like to be in a situation that she couldn't control. There would be nurses bathing _her_ son, checking up and looking after _her_ son. She hated it. 

She sat back on the chair, and looked at the hallway

"You don't belong here, darling. You belong at home" she whispered, her voice was dry

* * *

Johann sat at his desk in the laboratory, he had the bagged up syringe in front of him. 

He exhaled, his hair was messy. He picked up his dictophone and began to record

_Doubt plagues me [Full stop] . I have become a madman [Full stop]. I was always a genius but the stakes have never been so high [Full stop]. One day they will find these recordings [Comma], these notes and experiments and I shall be known as mad [Comma], as a brute [Full Stop]. Perhaps in my pursuit of fame [comma], I have found myself becoming infamous [Full Stop]._


	19. Catabasis -Part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman continues his journey. Peter goes to visit him

Roman found himself in a recognisable apartment. It was Destiny's. It looked normal, the lights were dimmed and she sat alone at her 'reading' table. She had her head down on the table, surrounded by various coloured candles.

"Destiny?" he whispered as he walked over and sat opposite her. He noticed that she had a photo in her hand, it was outstretched over her head and onto the table. She clutched it. 

"Destiny? What do I need to see?" he was weary of her lifeless appearance.

"Shut up, shut up" she muttered, her voice got louder and she flung her head back. She looked around the apartment.

"It's me, Roman" he tried to touch her hand to wake her up. Destiny felt his touch and stood up, she stepped backwards. Her eyes were completely white as she backed towards the door.

"Get out, get out" she called out, she seemed to look through him. Roman got up and walked towards her. She backed away and came up against the door. 

It made a loud thudding sound as she fell against the door. 

"What have you seen?" he turned and sat beside her. She grabbed his hand and he saw what she saw. The spirits the illuminsecent entities that lined the apartment. He was startled as he noticed them, the unknown entities who paraded around her small one bedroom apartment. They added colour, like fragments of tinted glass, the sun shining through each angle to create a figure of beauty. 

He saw the figure, the same one that he saw in the large cannister. The woman who appeared to be floating in a capsule of water. But this time, it was clearer. He recognised the face. 

"Help me. Help me" a girl banged on the glass, of the cylinder that she floated in. She pounded on the glass, it began to crack. Her face moulded, seemed to melt to that familiar face. Roman knew instantly who it was and it hurt him inside when he realised. The skin seemed to slip off revealing the face of his sister. It was Shelley. 

Did Destiny know? Roman thought as he stared at the figure, the noise got louder as the spirits began to gather around. They positioned themselves around it as though they were trying to hold the cylinder together.

"Help me, Roman" she whispered as the glass imploded into smithereens and she fell through in a tidal wave of water. The water seemed to have no effect on him or Destiny, but as it washed through, the spirits seemed to get dragged along with it. They lost their glimmer and became body parts, severed arms and decomposed heads being flushed through the apartment. 

Destiny turned her head to Roman, her eyes were bright yellow. The same as the beast that he saw in his nightmares.

"You know what he is?" she screamed, her voice was deep and she grabbed Roman by the collar. 

"Who?" he tried to look away as she widened her glance and held him tightly.

"The thing that lives in your head" she erupted into laughter. 

* * *

Roman found himself in Peter and Lynda's trailer. It happened almost immediately after. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Peter was angry as he paced around the apartment. 

"I'm telling you now" Lynda said.

Peter turned and grabbed his jacket from the hook. 

"Woah, where are you going?" Lynda put her arm out

"It's my fault, I need to see him"

" How is it your fault? "

"Because he saw me talking to Pryce, he knew I lied to him, it must have tipped him over the fucking edge" 

"You shouldn't get involved with people like Pryce" Peter sat on the sofa, Lynda was nervous, her son was burying himself in all kinds of trouble. 

"I had to, so I wouldn't go to fucking jail, they are a powerful family" 

Lynda didn't respond, she sat beside him and put her hand on his back to steady him. 

"I killed Shelley Godfrey" he exclaimed, "Pryce found out, he made a deal, all I had to do was keep Roman away from the tower, I don't know why, some fucking psycho experiement, I didn't ask" Lynda face waned as she tried to remain calm. 

"We need to leave Hemlock, Ok. How much does Roman know?, it doesn't matter we need to get out of here" She began gathering items

"Mom we can't, the full moon is next week. I can't leave it'll be too risky" 

Lynda knelt before him, and held his face in her hands. 

"My darling, its only a matter of time until Pryce goes back on his word. Upir are dangerous, of Roman finds out what you did...."

Peter pointed to his own swollen face, sarcastically and said, "Yeah I know what he'll do" 

"This isn't the time for joking" 

"No but I have to see him" Peter stood up, and before Lynda could respond, he had gone. 

Roman exhaled, he fell backwards and collapsed to the ground, the floor seemed to swallow him up. 

"Not what you expected, huh?" Shelley sat beside him as the room blackened. 

"I don't want to do this anymore" tears ran down his face,

"Shouldn't I wake up now?, I mean what else could I possibly have to see?"

Shelley beside him

* * *

Pryce stood in the lab, the Shelley prototype was before him in the large cannister.

"Oh, my dear, was it worth it?" he sat down on the floor before the prototype. 

"So much heartbreak, murder, sorrow. I merely tried to fix what that drunken gypsy started. He killed you. He's the reason for all of this" of course there was not a response. 

"Glow worm, all of this was for you. I can't bare to live without you, you are the kindest, and the warmest light in this shithole of a town" 

"Roman will be dead soon. You have your mother to thank for that, insisting he be at home, he'll be happier. That's where everyone he loves is" 

He sat on the floor and combed his hand through his un-combed hair. 

* * *

Peter knocked on the door of the Godfrey mansion, Olivia answered almost immediately. 

"What do you want?" she asked, her face was weary. She wore all white. 

"I'm a friend of your sons" 

"I'm aware of what you are" she exhaled and held the door open, 

"He's upstairs. If you steal something I will know" he thanked her and walked up the grand staircase of the Godfrey mansion. 

As he got to the top, he turned and she pointed towards the open door, he was hesitant as he entered. The room was lit by the sun as it shone through the window. 

Roman lay in the large bed that was situated beneath the window. He looked peaceful, there was a faint beeping coming from the EKG machine 

"No one here just us chickens" he took Roman's hand and stroked it. 

"I'm so sorry that it ended up like this, this is all one big fucking mess" he said "I didn't mean for any of this. I hate myself for this, for what I did" 

Olivia listened in the doorway, she didn't want to intrude, despite her own opinion of him, Peter was a constant for Roman, a postitive part of his life.

"I don't know why I'm telling you, but that thing, the beast that I ridiculed you for seeing. That was me, you see something happens to me each full moon. Perhaps.... I don't know. But if I told you sooner This may not have happened" he kept hold of Roman's hand, stealing every moment he could. 

* * *

"You have one more thing to see" Shelley turned to Roman. He didn't have a response and simply followed her. She took his hand and walked him into a familiar corridor. It was his house

"What's the point of this?, if I wake up, I have nothing"

"Thats exactly the point . _When_ you wake up, I want to show you what you do have?" he rolled his eyes at her and followed her into the attic where he lay. Olivia was lingering in the doorway and Roman walked through her. He saw Peter who sat at his bedside.

" Why am I seeing this asshole, he killed you? "

Shelley a 'shhhh' sound as she placed her finger over her lips.

He stood and observed.

"When I was with you. I had something that made me a better person" he began and Roman rolled his eyes,

"Yeah guilt" he scoffed

"And I can't bare to think that I blew it. But I did. I should have told you the truth from the beginning" he pulled a vial out of his pocket. It was a small glass container, one that Roman recognised.

From his limited research, he remembered seeing this. It was a drug, a liquid that, if consumed, by a werewolf on the night that wasn't the full moon, would mean he was to be trapped in the body of a beast forever.

"But I'm a monster and this human skin, I don't deserve to wear it anymore" 

Roman glanced at Shelley, fear overtook him. He didn't know what to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the delay in updates, I hope to get back on track soon. Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoy this level of psychedelia that I have injected into the Catabasis journey


	20. Nothing is quite so clear now.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback chapter, what actually made Norman self destruct and what happened to Letha?  
> Again I apologize for the prolonged periods of time between updates, I hope to post at least once a week for the final four chapters.  
> Thank you for reading and the constant support

Letha felt dizzy and nauseas as she sat on the doctors table. There was a small paper covering over the leather seat. She was laying flat and stared at the ceiling. 

"What's wrong with me?" she asked as the rather plump looking doctor entered the room, he was balding and had a small pair of circular glasses.

"We are waiting for confirmation, but it would appear that you are pregnant" her face dropped, she was confused.

"How does that work? I haven't slept with anyone"

"It's not the sleeping with them that does it" the doctors attempt at an off colour joke only further added to Letha's irritation.

"There must be a mistake"

His assistant entered the room with a piece of paper, she was pregnant. 12 weeks it would seem. 

As she walked home, Letha found herself in a sense of disarray, her memory was blurry and she couldn't quite pin down where she was 12 weeks ago.

"I don't understand" she kept saying to herself as she found herself at the doorway to the house. With her phone in her hand, she desperately wanted to call Roman, but with the haste at which they had left, her father had told her to not call him.

As the weeks went on, Letha swelled. Her hormones became out of control and she found herself losing her appetite. Norman was worried about her and the speed at which she grew thinner and less energetic. Desperate times were called for and he contacted Johann in regards to her condition. 

Dr. Pryce rejoiced as he got the call from Norman, he anticipated it, of course. 

"Bring her over, I'll have a look" 

"No, I don't think that's wise. To come back there."

"I'm incredibly busy, Norman, oh alright. I'll come to you" Johann responded a sense of sarcasm in his tone. As he hung up, he sat down at his desk, a gleeful smile of triumph spread across his face. 

"Almost" he smiled as he looked at the newly built vat that stood before him. His prototype was merely alive in the paperwork that sat before him on his desk. All he needed was a heart, a foetal sized heart, one that would then have room to grow with the body that it was inside. Shelley's destroyed body was too far gone, he couldn't successfully transition it into life without compromising the expected outcome. As much as it hurt, he had buried her in an unmarked grave at the back of the white tower, Olivia hadn't been involved in the burial, she instead wanted to be updated on the trial and condemnation of the young man responsible, the young poet friend who she had forbid her daughter from seeing. It worked to Johann's advantage as he never had to explain or inform her of the experiments that the body had been subjected to. 

* * *

Johann sat before Letha, her cheeks had fell to just bone and her skin was pale. Her stomach had swollen at an alarming rate in the three months that she had been pregnant. 

"What can we do? It's killing her?"

"Most unusual" Johann recommended that she stay at a private, tucked away room of the white tower. Although reluctant at first, Norman agreed. Letha was moved to a room, under a pseudonym.

A grief stricken Olivia had little interest in the transportation or identity of patients at her hospital, she had all but signed Johann the deeds to the place, anyhow. 

* * *

Within a month, Letha was a mess. Her shirt was blood covered from the way in which her inards were beginning to self combust. The lack of food and the incision of multiple 'medicines' into her blood stream meant she was merely a skin sack, an empty mess. But not empty, what she housed was of most importance to Johann. He now had a body, a young girl he had found overdosed in the abandoned hospital would be the perfect fit for the new Shelley. 

After a few modifications, facially. She would be the perfect skin to house her. The inexperience he had in the constructing of bodies had left some monstrous features on the girl, but he had to work with the best he could. It would be too risky to ask for help with his work. 

He insisted on implementing more and more growing supplements into Letha's bloodstream in order for the heart to be ready sooner. He had specially made the vitamins for this purpose, time was a very important factor at this point in the proceedings. 

A week of minimal visitation passed and Norman stormed into his office, it was dark outside. 

"What have you done to her?" he yelled at Johann. 

"Why haven't you told me anything?" 

Johann didn't respond, he instead prepared the shiny medical tools that lay before him, cleaning them with rubbing alcohol. 

"Answer me" 

"I helped her. I rectified your error" 

"What?" 

"You knew that Shelley was going to be meeting that boy. She died. So, unfortunately Letha is the best candidate to rectify that" 

"What?" 

"I had to find a body to inject the genetically modified egg into and it just so happened that Letha was there" 

"Did you rape my daughter?" 

"Don't be vulgar, Norman I performed an insemination, scientifically and correctly. I made sure she was sedated and implanted the egg" 

"You killed her!" Norman had tears in his eyes

"Yes. You have me there, well she isn't quite dead yet." Johann chuckled and opened the door for Norman to leave. Norman grabbed him by the collar and punched him 

"I deserved that. Now leave" Johann's lip was bleeding. 

"Letha didn't deserve this, Pryce" 

"Nether did Shelley" 

"I didn't kill Shelley" Norman said

"Yeah but it eats away at you, doesn't it?, the conscience of a guilty man" Pryce said as he jolted from Norman's grasp. 

Pryce headed to the room where Letha lay, she groaned in pain as the light hurt her eyes. 

"Its nearly over, now" he put on the rubber gloves and pulled out the syringe from his medical bag. He inserted it into her neck and lay her down, cutting the shirt open, he felt the babies pulse. It was strong and agitated. Using a scalpal, he cut open her stomach and removed the foetus. There was little blood, her body was practically dried out from the inside. The only thing keeping her alive was the strength of the babies heartbeat. 

Norman was sitting on the floor of Johann's lab, when he returned. 

"You still here?" Johann asked rhetorically as he lay the heart in a metal dish, it was concealed in fluid. 

"I would suggest you leave now, this may get a bit graphic" 

"She's dead isn't she?" Norman remained in his melancholic position. 

"Yeah" Johann crouched before him, his hands still wearing the dirtied rubber gloves. 

"I would suggest that you go be with your wife" He looked at Norman and put a dirty hand on his cheek. Blood particles and other bodily chemicals were left on Norman's cheek. 

He was in despair as he got up and left the white tower. 

Johann had what he wanted and everything else was irrelevant to him. 

Norman fell into despair, Marie had left and upon returning to collect her things, she had found Norman. 

He committed suicide in their home, Marie called Olivia but no effort was made to inform Roman. 


	21. Running to nowhere in particular

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman wakes up in a disoriented state

Roman jolted awake, his head pounded and his scalp was sweaty as he glanced around the desolate room. As he yanked off the oxygen mask, and pulled out the drip, he stood up. His balance was uneasy and he almost fell over, A sudden sense of nausea overcame him causing him to throw up. He felt weak and sore as he sank to the ground, still holding onto the bed. The room was spinning. His legs were extended out in front of him as he still gripped the bed with his right hand.

"Darling" Olivia's voice echoed as she rushed towards him, her figure look like a vibrating kinesis as she got closer.

"I'm ok" he muttered as she held his arm and he climbed back to his feet.

"You need rest"

"I need to find Peter" he rushed to the shower, finding his feet as he briskly washed and changed. Olivia waited outside and lit a cigarette, she waited for what seemed like forever. Eventually he re emerged in a black shirt, coat and trousers, his grey scarf was around his neck.

"Why are you looking for Peter?"

"I don't know exactly" he pulled his shoes on and his mother blocked the door.

"Where exactly did you go? When you were in there? What did you see?" tears built in her eyes as she smoked the cigarette down to the filter. Her hand was shaking as she took another drag.

"I thought you were going to die. Losing you and your sister in the space of a year, I don't know what I'd do" her vulnerability upset him and made him uneasy.

Roman walked over to Olivia and she held him in a tight embrace. He loosened himself from her walked towards the door. 

He started the car and the breeze in his face was a relief. He headed to the trailer, as he drove down the road it all came flooding back. The long stone road triggered something and he had to pull over, suddenly. His head began throbbing and he remembered it all. 

Seeing the creature with the yellow eyes, the wolf that had caused him to crash. Peter. He remembered what he learnt, what he heard. Had Peter already taken the vial? 

Roman tried to steady himself as he held his head in agony. 

"What the fuck?" he growled as he reclined backwards in the car seat and stared at the sky. 

* * *

Peter sat in his room, he smoked a cigarette and looked at the ceiling. Playing with the vial in his hands, the small glass bottle.

He got up and stubbed out the cigarette. The vial still in his hand. Walking into the living room, he could hear the silent roar of the television. Some late night television programme was on, and lit up the room from the small television. Lynda lay asleep on the sofa. She was slouched over and was snoring, a half smoked joint resting on the ashtray. 

Peter walked past her, glancing at her for just a moment as he left the trailer and wandered into the cold night. 


	22. The world collapses around me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack confronts Johann as he finds his lab in carnage.

Jack burst into Johann's laboratory .The first thing he noticed was the smashed glass that was covering the ground, shards of shiny glass, some of which were speckled with blood droplets. The floor was damp.

"Come in dear" Johann said sarcastically, his hair was messy as he sat perched on the edge of his desk. He brushed his hair back with his hand and revealed a bloodied cut above his left eye. Jack ignored his vulnerability, he had seen it all before, he wanted answers.

"I don't want to know what is going on. I could not care less. All I ask is one question"

"Go on" Johann rested his head on the back of his hand. "I'm on the edge of my seat" he leant further forward and knocked the whiskey bottle on the ground, it made a loud smash as it shattered into multiple pieces. It was barely distinguishable amongst the rest of the carnage that covered the floor.

"Is it illegal?" Jack asked, clenching his fists at either side of his waist. Johann stood up and stumbled over to him, he leant in to his husbands face. Jack knew the answer, tears began to form in his eyes as he watched Johann's every move. 

"Its not legal. Not moral. Or even tasteful" he laughed, his breath reeked of alcohol, and his chin was stubbly. "But it had to be done, my selfish nature would not allow it any other way" he roared an artifical chuckle, sending a shiver down Jack's spine. 

"Stop laughing. This isn't fucking funny"

"I can't stop. If I do then I have to face it" Johann's tone got stricter and quieter as he slid to the ground in front of the desk.  
"I've fucked up. Jack. I have blew it"  
  
Jack crouched beside Johann. He looked down at the mess that was his husband. 

"I made a monster" Johann whispered "All I had were good intentions, unorthodox methods but good intentions to get to her back"

"Who?"

"Glow worm. The only good that ever lived in this shit tip of a town" placing his hand on Johann's shoulder, Jack glanced at him.

"All of this. You jeopardised everything, your career, your marriage and all because you didn't want to grieve. You are a man of science, people die. Isn't that what they train you to know?" Johann's face was sweaty, and his eyes were dehydrated.

"I was better than that. I am one of the greatest scientists, I bought someone back from the dead. I'll make history"

"No. Look at this place, Johann. Whatever you created is a monster"

"I planned it all so meticulously, down to the last detail and yet she does not even have the ability to speak" Johann looked at the ground, he was worrying a fragment of glass, holding it between his fingers. Jack stood up, dusted himself off, brushing the various bodily fluids off his blue trousers.

"Enjoy it then. The most important scientist in the world is crying like a little girl and sitting in a pool of shit and blood. I hope you get everything you deserve" Jack walked out of the lab, glass cracked beneath his feet as he shut the door behind him.

"I need help" Johann cried out, but Jack had already gone.

As he sat amongst the fragmentations of his former life, he buried his head into his knees, he took the dictaphone off his desk and pressed record.

_So here it is, [comma] the end of my story. [full-stop] I tried and no one can dare say otherwise; [semi-colon] I have made history. [full-stop] I have bought them a legend, [comma] a story that the sad residents of this god forsaken town can tell to their offspring. [full-stop] I have given them a monster to hide in the darkness; [semi-colon] a thing to go bump in the night. [full-stop] A warning, [comma] a cautionary tale. [full-stop] I am a man a science and of reason [comma], I am also one of few gay men in this tiny town of tiny minds.[full-stop] So, [comma] I do not fancy my chances under the protection of our one local police department and if I am lucky I may be committed to my own psychiatric hospital - {dash) I know what happens there. [full-stop] No, [comma] I could not take the shame so I shall take the rather morbid third option. [full-stop] To whomever shall find this sorry mess that I have become, [comma] I only ask one thing, [comma] make sure I am not left out of the history books and tell my story. [full-stop] I would much rather be remembered as infamous than not remembered at all. [full-stop]_

He dropped the dictaphone beside him and held the small fragment of glass up to his throat. As he made a slit across the central arteries, blood began to gush out of the cut and he lay his head back. The life drained from his body as he stared at the ceiling. 

* * *

Two hours earlier. Johann lay the seven foot creation on the bed, tubes were sticking out of most of her body parts. Her long black hair was partially covering her face, her hands were bandaged and her feet were like bricks, covered with large black boots.

"My dear. You are beautiful" Johann remarked stroking her hair, he uncovered the part of her face. It was swollen, as he touched the skin blue glowing lines began to appear beneath the skin.

"Now you shall glow. You always did in my eyes" she opened her eyes. The pupils widened and she jolted upright. She growled and grunted as she ripped the tubes out of her arms.

"Shelley. It's OK. Calm down" Johann tried to steady her but she was stronger than him.

She leapt of the table, making a large thud as she stomped to the ground. The room seemed to shake as she rushed over to the large glass cannister. 

"Shelley. It's me. You will be fine" her face was fearful as she stumbled around on her new legs.

'Grrreeee rrrrroooommmmmmaaaannnnnn' she spoke in garbled phonetics.

"I can fix that. I can help you, modify you"

Shelley was not having any of it. It only took one punch for the glass to implode of the amniotic prison cell. Water laced with chemicals flooded the lab, the smell was pungent and caused Johann to feel light headed. 

"Shell, please just calm down" he yelled at her, she turned around. Grabbing him by the throat, she threw him across the room. His face collided with the broken glass as he landed on the mess of fluids. His vision was fuzzy as she stood over him.

"aiiiiie didddddddnnnnmet waaaannnnt tooooo cccccomme bacccck" her deep voice boomed as she tried to form syllables, the growls formed partially by fragments of words.

He looked at her, tears in his eyes as the chemicals overpowered his senses. He must have lost consciousnesses, as when he awoke she was gone. The cut on his head stung and he crawled over to the desk, trying to pull himself out of the gross mess of the floor. 


	23. If we die, we die together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tirelessly, Roman searches for Peter, as the night draws closer

Roman drove to the trailer, the cold breeze on his face was exhilarating but he was unable to enjoy the relief that it gave on his sweat drenched skin. He was too nervous, anxious. What if Peter had already taken the vial? The question kept repeating in his mind. 

He got to the trailer, it had been his logical first thought. The door was ajar and as he walked in, Lynda called out. 

"Peter?" her face fell as she saw Roman before her. "Have you seen him?" she asked, desperacy in her tone. Roman looked around, the trailer was in disarray. Sofa cushions were upturned and some of the floorboards had been disturbed. She had obviously been looking for something.

"No. You know about the vial Don't you?" Roman asked as lynda walked towards him. 

"What do you know about it?" she asked him.

"I just know what it'll do to him if he takes it on a night that isnt a full moon" Lynda placed her hand on his arm

"That's about the extent of it, I don't know how he found it. I kept it as a left over remnant from Vince. I kept it in case I ever had to use it" 

"We should look in the woods" Roman suggestioned and Lynda shook her head.

"Sweetie, if he has taken it. He will already be the beast. Its suicide to face it"

"I have to try. It's my fault that he's gone" 

"And it'll be your funeral" Lynda took a seat on the sofa and lit a joint.

* * *

Roman rushed out of the door and found himself walking deeper into the cold woods. He walked for a while, the darkness overshadowed much of the sights and he began to wonder if he was going around in circles.

"Peter?" he called out, to an empty night.

He heard snarling in the distance, hesitantly he walked further.

"Peter?" He spoke a little softer. It had suddenly dawned on him that he had no plan. No speech or anything that he could say to change Peter's mind. As he stepped slower, the noise got louder, the growls became spits as he found himself meters away from it. The night was quiet, utter silence fell over Hemlock Grove. It was as though the world was listening and waiting.

"Peter? Is that you?" Roman pushed a low hanging branch, that was obstructing his view, out of the way, he could barely make out the silhouette that crouched on the ground. The knawing sound stopped and for the briefest of seconds, Roman felt calm. His entire body was tense but his mind was peaceful, the quietening of the animalistic sounds had assured him that he wasn't too late.

His nirvana was soon interrupted as the thing turned around and stood up. The statuesque bask of the four legged beast was terrifying and was almost the same height as Roman. The yellow piercing eyes glistened under the sheen of the moon.

"Shit" Roman exhaled. The beast stepped closer, its teeth were dripping with blood and it appeared to have something hanging from its jaw. It dropped the skin like pile onto the ground. Flopping to the ground, it left trails of blood beneath it. It appeared to have veins attached, they clinged to the back of the bloodied heap.

It was a face. 

Roman inhaled as he pinched the skin mask and flipped it over. Its eyes were gone but was still clear who it was. Tears built in Roman's eyes and he lifted his eyebrows. Gazing back to the wolf.

"Peter, its you isn't it?" he stared into the beasts eyes. The skin mask was in fact Peter's face. Roman vaguely remembered reading something about this in the limited lore that he had uncovered. The wolf had to eat its own face as a price for changing before the full moon.

"I'm too late" Roman exclaimed to the beast. It stepped closer, its warm breath was on Roman's face as it leared over him.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could make it. Peter, if you can hear me, I forgive you" tears rolled down Roman's face as he took a seat on the cold damp soil.

"If I don't have you. I have nothing" he sat with his legs bent, the creature sniffed at him.

* * *

Meanwhile a terrified Shelley ran towards the woods, she was uneasy and her vision, unclear. As she stepped down the empty road, she began to remember. The memories of the accident began flooding back as she wandered down the hard road. It was a freezing cold evening but she couldn't feel it, her skin was over heating, it had a leather like texture. Her vision was obscured by her hair as it hung over her eye. Her mind was locked away from her. Pryce had told her, her name and never fully disclosed who she was. 

Eventually she found herself in the woods, she had ran past the road and skidded down the muddy hill. She grunted as she smashed into trees and tripped over rocks.

It was like learning to walk all over again, her feet were heavy. The black curtain of nightfall, caused her to feel a further sense of disortienation. Her senses were heightened, the wind was startling and blew past her, through her. She cried out "Stoppp" the trees motioned in double vision as she headed as far as this trojan horse body would allow. It would take time to navigate the operational systems of this new shell. This seven foot beast that she had become. 

She hadn't asked to be reborn and the struggle seemed unnecessary, she wanted to just fall to her knees and allow the muddy bog to consume her. 

* * *

"Peter. Kill me" Roman offered himself to the beast.

It gnarled as it leaned into Roman, forcing him to recline as the creature blew its sticky breath into his mouth. Sweat dripped down Roman's face as the beast spat at it. 

"I'm sorry" Roman cried, he reached out to touch the creature and it snapped at him. The creature began to turn in on itself, an inner battle. The beast was held back from itself. It twitched as it fell to the ground.

Little did Roman know, that his sister was standing behind a tree. She peered around and watched as her brother cowered. 


	24. Our very own happy ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Peter find themselves in a difficult situation as the gruelling wolf still leers over Roman. Can he bring Peter back?

Tears rolled down Roman's cheeks as he stood up and faced the wolf. At this moment, he realised that the beast was fighting with itself. As it strained its neck, something pulled it back. He watched in agony as Peter fought to be human. 

"Peter" Roman yelled "Come back to me" he yelled as the beast rolled over and blood began to seep from its mouth. Its jaw extended and something began to climb out. A bloodied hand emerged from the beasts jaw. There was a cracking sound as the ribs opened and the jaw pulled back. 

"Peter" Roman cried as the beast lunged at him, almost knocking him off his feet.

"Follow my voice. You can do it, come back to me" he cried, it only angered the beast as it wrenched. Choking on the bloodied thing that was lodged in its throat. 

Meanwhile Shelley watched from behind the tree, her vision was clearing. The night was dark and the constant movement of the silouhettes, lit by the moon became almost indistinguishable.

She could hear conflicting voices in her mind, memories as they flooded back. Pryce screaming as he punched his desk, it had been muffled by the water in the cannister but she could feel the movement. Olivia, when she had been there, as well as the memories from her mind. Roman, the blood, she remembered him rushing her out of his room after witnessing him butchering himself. A chill ran down her spine as her head screamed at her. 

Her attention was bought back to the present by a blood curdling scream. It was Roman, before him was a bloodied body.

"Peter" he cried as he pulled the body out of the wolf, the wolf imploded in on itself, its bones and fur dissolved as the unconscious body lay before him.

Roman took off his coat and covered Peter's naked body.

"Can you hear me?" he whispered, as he leaned in and opened Peter's mouth to perform CPR. His hands were blood covered as he tried to resusitate the young gypsy boy. They were lit purely by the moon as Roman knelt on the cold muddled ground. Peters hair was soaked with blood, it was like looking at a newly born foetus, fresh from the womb.

Roman didn't feel the bitter chill of the cold evening as the adrenaline coursed through his body. He cried as he pounded down on Peter's chest to try to bring him back. 

"I've come too fucking far to lose you" he screamed as he continued with the chest compressions. Peter was unresponsive. Roman wiped the blood from Peter's face and held open his eye socket. The pupil was dilated. 

"Fuck" Roman screamed into the icy night, he realised Peter was dead.

Eventually, he knew his efforts were futile and he lay down with his head nestled in Peter's chest.

"I'm sorry. I didn't make it in time" he could barely form words as he cried. He felt anger and sadness and blame all in one overwhelming emotion. 

"I'm so sorry" He buried his head in Peter's chest, Roman's coat was still covering it. The cold began to bite at him as the bloodflow slowed and he began to calm. Adrenaline began to turn to a slowing sensation, his body went into shock. The empty hollowness of Peters chest was startling, his skin was cold. Roman shivered, his bare arms wrapped around Peter. Roman didn't care if he froze to death, he couldn't see his future, nor did he want to. 

* * *

Meanwhile, Destiny jolted awake. Destiny pulled on her clothes, her mind told her to go to the woods. Her head was pounding as she wearily slipped her boots on and grabbed her keys. She walked into the door frame, unable to get control of her body. Carefully she walked down the stairs and out into the cold night. She was in agony, her chest began to ache as she walked through the dark woods. 

"Peter" she called out, to no response. Eventually she turned a corner and saw the bloodied sight. Roman lying on Peters naked body, it was blood covered. Roman was still. 

"No" She knelt down and touched Peter's cold skin. Roman didn't respond. He was clutching Peter, his skin was pale. 

* * *

Suddenly Peter's chest rose and he lept forward, the coat fell off his naked body. As he crouche, he coughed up a thick brown mucus. He vomited dramatically on the ground, it was as though the entirety of his innards were coming out. 

"Shee-it" Peter said eventually as he wiped his mouth. He looked around him and saw Destiny who was sitting beside Roman. They watched, Roman's eyes were barely open. 

"Shee-it" Roman shook as he passed Peter the bloodied coat. 

"What the fuck happened?, how much did you see?" Peter asked, he suddenly felt vulnerable. He realised that Roman most likely knew everything. 

"I saw it all. The whole fucking beautiful grotesque bloodied thing" Roman was in awe "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sure that would go down well. Hello I'm Peter and I'm a werewolf. Oh and I killed your sister, let's be friends " Peter said sarcastically as he shivered.

"True but wouldn't that have been better than almost dying" 

"I'm not sure" Peter said. 

"I forgive you" Roman hugged Peter and held his face in his hands. He kissed Peter, despite him being covered in the sticky amniotic like blood. It was ghastly and stank but Roman was relieved to have Peter back.

Destiny hugged Peter, "What the hell was that?" 

"It was almost the end" he said

"Don't you ever fucking leave me again" Roman said they lay beneath the sky, intertwined in one another's arms. Destint sat beside them, she felt uneasy, this was not over. Her chest still ached. 

A large silouhette overshadowed them, Roman sat up and looked over to the creature. 

It was Shelley, she stood over them. Roman stood up and looked at the creature, he recognised her eyes, the vulnerability of them. 

Roman placed his hand on her cheek and it lit up with a blue glow. 

"Shell?" he said, unsure as this seven foot creature stood before him.. He brushed her hair behind her ears, and she declined his touch. She felt unsure as he looked at her. 

"What has Pryce done to you?" Roman said, Peter stood up and touched his arm.

"He's bought her back" Peter said, coldly. He could barely recognise the girl. 

There they stood, shadowed by night. A familiar face stood before them. Peter held Roman's hand as they watched her.

"We have to protect her" Peter said 

"In my experience, this town doesn't like the monsters that hide in plain sight" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this brings us to the end of this fiction, I am so thankful to all those who have read it and have left kudos. It has certainly been a journey and I thank you


	25. Note from the author

Here we are, at the end of quite a winding journey. Thank you for reading and going on this journey with me. 

I wanted to write Roman a happy ending, I wanted to offer closure and reconciliation for him. I decided not to include the suicide/upir transformation that happens at the end of the book and series one. I decided to take a slightly different approach as I could not find a way to weave that into the story, as this is more an evolving love story than a self destructive character study. 

I am currently planning the second book, which will predominantly follow Olivia and what she encounters when she follows the mysterious Ayla into the woods. It will be a much shorter story than this one. Nevertheless it will be an interesting story that should offer some solutions as to what happened to Olivia whilst she was missing for those chapters. 

I'm excited to see the response for it and to see how people react to an alternative Olivia story from the canon story in the book and television show. Olivia is an intriguing and unexplored character, one who seems to be sidelined a bit. She is just Roman's mother, however I want to unpick that a little further and give her a story. 

My decision to alter the Shelley reality and have her become the 'monster' like form that we see in the show and book, much later in Roman's life, was a decision that I played around with. As we never actually learn how Pryce created her, I saw potential in making it gruesome and dark as it consumes Pryce in an almost frankenstein approach. I was uncertain about making Pryce the villain, so I slowly declined him from anti hero to villain in order to display the progression of his villainy as it derives from the pain of losing Shelley. 

Thank you again and I shall see you all very soon, keep an eye out for the second story. If you have any questions or thoughts about A new day has begun please do not hesitate to comment.


End file.
